Barcelona set to miss out on Premier League defender as Inter Milan agree €40 million deal – report | OneFootball

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t SPORT), Cristian Romero appears increasingly likely to join Inter Milan, with the Serie A club now on the verge of completing a deal that would end FC Barcelona’s hopes of signing the Tottenham Hotspur centre-back.

The 28-year-old had been one of Barça’s preferred defensive targets this summer, but the Catalan club’s inability to move forward with the operation has allowed Inter to take control of the race.

Romero waited for Barcelona

For much of the transfer window, Romero prioritised a move to Barcelona.

The defender is said to have put other opportunities on hold while waiting for the Blaugrana to make their move and was even willing to make financial sacrifices to facilitate a transfer to Camp Nou.

That approach never came, however, and with time running out, the situation has shifted decisively.

Headed to Italy. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Agreement reached

According to the report, Inter have reached an agreement in principle with Tottenham for Romero’s transfer.

The deal is expected to be worth around €40 million, with only the player’s personal terms still needing to be finalized before the move can be completed.

Romero is understood to be seeking a salary of €6 million net per season, while Inter are attempting to negotiate a lower figure before finalizing the agreement.

While Barcelona were dormant, Inter never stopped working on the deal.

The Nerazzurri continued discussions with both Tottenham and the player’s representatives throughout the summer, believing they could capitalize on Barça’s lack of concrete action.

Their persistence now appears set to pay off.

Why Barcelona never made their move

Barcelona liked Romero but never made a move. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Barcelona’s stance has remained consistent throughout the window. Any move for another centre-back depended first on creating space in the squad through an important defensive departure, while the club’s main priority remained signing a new centre-forward.

Hansi Flick also never considered another central defender an urgent necessity.

The German coach remains confident in his current options, which include Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Gerard Martin, who has impressed the coaching staff in his new role.

Although Romero’s profile was highly regarded internally, circumstances meant the transfer was always secondary to Barcelona’s other priorities.

Unless there is a dramatic late twist, the Argentine now looks set to continue his career in Italy, with Inter closing in on one of the club’s marquee signings of the summer.