Inter’s move for Cristian Romero is under threat, with Atlético Madrid preparing to gatecrash the deal for the Tottenham defender.
According to calciomercato.it, Inter, still searching for reinforcements at the back despite the arrival of John Stones, have advanced a deal for Romero, agreeing a fee of around €40m with Tottenham as well as personal terms worth roughly €5.5m a year.
The complication is that the Nerazzurri cannot complete the move until they have offloaded Benjamin Pavard to free up space and funds.
Atlético’s Molina and Ruggeri sales fund Romero bid as Inter wait
That delay is the opening Atlético hope to exploit. Flush with the proceeds of two sales, Nahuel Molina to Roma and Matteo Ruggeri to Aston Villa, Diego Simeone’s side are preparing an initial budget of more than €30m to try to sign the Argentine.
And they may hold a decisive advantage: according to Marca, while Romero does not object to a move to Milan, he would prefer to join Simeone’s Atlético over Inter.
Tottenham, for their part, had given the green light to Inter’s proposal of €35m plus €5m in bonuses, and are unlikely to accept a lower figure from Atlético than the one already agreed with the Serie A champions.
That offers Inter a measure of protection, but with the deal stalled on Pavard’s exit and the player leaning towards Spain, the Nerazzurri’s hopes of landing the World Cup winner are no longer as secure as they once seemed.
For Cristian Chivu, who used Andy Diouf at right-back in the Perth derby as he continues to seek an heir to Denzel Dumfries, resolving the defence has become an increasingly pressing task.
