Spurs defender speaks to La Liga manager | OneFootball

You would be hard pressed to find a player that divides opinion within the Tottenham Hotspur fanbase as much as Cristian Romero does. There is strong competition for that crown, with the likes of Brennan Johnson - but Romero may well be number one.

There are fans who see him as a world class defender, one of the best in the world - who deserves to play with better players. Others, meanwhile, see him as reckless, unreliable, and someone who only cares about the Argentina national team.

For what our tuppence is worth, he is a very, very talented player, who is just extremely passionate about his national team - like most South Americans - and he does care about Spurs. However, the old age cliche about availability being the best ability is something that is certainly relevant when it comes to Romero.

Last week, we aggregated the news that La Liga side Atletico Madrid were interested in the player - to join an Argentine contingent of manager Diego Simeone - and five first team players this coming summer.

Well, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri - Romero has already spoken to Simeone over the phone, and is excited by the idea of joining Atletico. He also reports that Daniel Levy could demand 80 million Euros - which is around £67 million pounds.

Cristian Romero said to have spoken to Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone

As it stands, the 26-year old - whom will turn 27 next month - has two years remaining on his current contract in North London, so in truth a fee of £67 million, for an injury prone player who seemingly wants out - would be fairly difficult for the club to turn down.

There is little wonder that the Spanish side are in for a central defender. Former Spurs loanee Clement Lenglet has been a regular in their backline this season. Indeed, you did read that correctly. At the weekend, he gave a penalty away to cost them a win and evaporate their small title hopes.

Some have suggested that Luka Vuskovic will be the successor to Romero, which would in turn allow Spurs to use the money in other positions. That said, you feel like they would need to bring in a centre back anyway.

Ange - or whoever is in charge next season - would be left with an injury prone Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, an 18-year old Vuskovic, Radu Dragusin who will miss the first few months of the season, and is probably not up to the level regardless, and Ben Davies. Is that enough, quality wise? The last thing anyone wants is another season of having to stunt Archie Gray's development by playing him in defence.