I’ll Call Roberto De Zerbi – Former Star Unsure On Tottenham Man’s Quality | OneFootball

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Former Inter Milan defender Fulvio Collovati has revealed wants to speak with Roberto De Zerbi about Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Cristian Romero, insisting he does not believe the Argentine belongs among the elite defenders.

Two centre-backs have already arrived in north London, with Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi strengthening De Zerbi’s defence, while Luka Vuskovic has joined Brighton and Radu Dragusin has completed a loan move to Fiorentina.

Romero has already made his desire to leave clear despite remaining a key figure in De Zerbi’s plans, with Inter Milan leading the race for the Tottenham defender.

Tottenham’s valuation of more than €50m initially proved a stumbling block, but the Nerazzurri have since reaffirmed their interest and are weighing up an ‘expensive loan deal’ to lure him to the San Siro.

Collovati, however, remains unconvinced and said he intends to speak with De Zerbi to hear the Tottenham boss’ own view of Romero, suggesting the Argentine’s reputation has been overstated.

He argued that Romero is being portrayed as an elite centre-back, while insisting Inter should only target defenders of the very highest standard.

The former Italy international also pointed to Argentina’s defensive record at the World Cup, where the partnership of Romero and Lisandro Martínez conceded eight goals in eight matches, as part of his assessment of the Tottenham defender.

Collovati said on Nuova DS via FcInterNews: “I’ll give De Zerbi a call and ask him what he really thinks of Romero.

“From what some people are saying, it sounds like we’re talking about [former Ajax defender] Ruud Krol.

“Inter don’t need good defenders, they need excellent defenders.

“Just look at how many goals Argentina conceded at the World Cup.”

The Argentine reached the latter stages of the World Cup and is now recovering ahead of the new season, although his future increasingly appears to lie away from N17 after his agent held talks with the Serie A giants.

A move to Inter would also give Romero the chance to return to Champions League football, a competition Tottenham will not be part of this season.

Having previously established himself in Serie A, the 28-year-old could now be set for a return to Italy should Tottenham agree to Inter’s terms.