Cristian Romero’s Tottenham exit ‘basically a swap’ as Spurs ‘won’t pay’ for ex-Atletico star – insider | OneFootball

Tottenham insider John Wenham has detailed how Spurs have “basically swapped” Cristian Romero for an Atletico Madrid player in his exit.

The exit of Romero from Tottenham was always going to happen this summer. It looked after last season that the north London club was willing to let the Argentine go, as well as him wanting to exit.

There were links with a few clubs – Inter Milan and Atletico the main ones, and it’s the Spanish outfit who have landed Romero, in around a £34million move.

Spurs insider Wenham feels the Atletico deal is essentially a straight swap, after Tottenham signed Conor Gallagher from them in January, for £34.6million.

He told Tottenham News: “It was the easiest deal to do in football. We owe them £40million, or a high percentage of that from the Conor Gallagher transfer in the winter.

“It basically means we’ve swapped the two of them, we just won’t pay for Gallagher, and they will get Romero, and it’s basically a swap.”

Tottenham wanted Romero gone

Wenham has detailed why he feels Spurs wanted to see the back of Romero this summer.

He said: “Tottenham just wanted him out of the club.

“He had spoken against the ownership on two occasions, we’re starting afresh with this new ownership this summer, they don’t want any baggage from that previous era around, and they just wanted him out the door.

“Tottenham recruited in advance his replacement in Jan Paul van Hecke, who is incredibly similar in terms of his style of play, and is available more.

“We’re stronger in letting Romero go, people said at the start of the winter, we should be getting £60m, when the club actively want you out and replace you in advance, you’re left in a difficult position.

“We found someone willing to take his full salary, take him off our hands permanently. I think Tottenham will be pleased.”

Spurs now have a good corps of centre-backs in their ranks, with Van Hecke and Marcos Senesi joining Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso in the squad.

The likelihood is the two Dutchmen play a lot together, with Senesi surely in line for a lot of football after a good campaign with Bournemouth, which earned him a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad, where he came on at the back end of the final for his second appearance.