Tottenham table new last-ditch £46.7m bid for top target, set to be left frustrated
Tottenham have reportedly made a €55million (£46.7million) offer for Atalanta defender Cristian Romero.
The 23-year-old has been the club’s number one target for a little while but negotiations have gone nowhere. The search for a new centre-half was ramped up on Tuesday by the departure of Toby Adlerweireld.
It had been reported that Tottenham had previously offered Atalanta €40million (£34million) plus up to €10million (£8.5million) in add-ons.
Now, Calciomercato report that the club have tabled a brand new bid. The media outlet says that this could be Spurs’ last attempt at securing the signature of Romero.
Despite the big offer, the Italian club are reluctant to take the money. They feel they can hold out for a bigger sum with Barcelona rumoured to be putting together a bid.
Discussions between Daniel Levy and the Serie A outfit have proved frustrating, the source says. As a result, Tottenham have adopted a take or leave it approach.
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A club record fee
The amount the London club has offered would be the most Atalanta would have ever received for a player, should they accept.
Currently, their biggest ever outgoing transfer saw 19-year-old Dejan Kulusevski go to Juventus for £31.5million in January 2020.
Despite this tempting dangling carrot, it looks like Atalanta are going to gamble and hold out for more.
The club have decided to exercise their right to buy Romero from Juventus a year early into his two-season loan deal with Atalanta, which started in September 2020.
Once they’ve signed him from Juventus for the agreed price of €12million (£10million), Atalanta want around €60million (£51million) if they are to offload him from their books this summer.
Romero lifted the Copa America in July as Argentina beat Brazil in the final, a game he started. He also played two group stage games in the 1-0 wins over Paraguay and Uruguay.
The youngster has played 23 times for Atalanta, scoring three goals and securing five assists. He played in the 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in their Champions League group stage match in November.
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