Atalanta CEO, Gianluca Percassi, has now directly spoken about the rumours surrounding central defender, Cristian Romero, in the summer transfer window.
Alasdair Gold from Football London reported yesterday that Tottenham were in advanced talks with Atalanta for the transfer of not one but two players.
The report outlined that Spurs were interested in signing the goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, as well as centre-back Romero.
Gold claimed that Paratici was the one to bring Romero to Juventus back in 2019 and he remains keen on the defender.
Romero joined Atalanta on a two-year loan from Juventus last summer, with the former having the option to make the deal permanent for just £13.8m. Gold added that Atalanta were expected to trigger this clause and potentially sell him for an immediate profit.
It appears that Tottenham are one party who could be interested in taking him this summer, but Percassi has claimed that the price would have to be reflective of Romero’s value and strengthen the Serie A side.
Percassi said (Gianlucas DiMarzio): “The principle we have tried to follow over the years is that sales must strengthen us not weaken.
“Cristian has had an extraordinary season, he was awarded as the best defender in Italy and it is normal that he has some interests, but it is at Atalanta in a context that has allowed him to grow and take him to the Champions League and go to Copa America since highly titled and win it.
When one journalist asked: ‘Without a crazy offer, will he stay at Atalanta?’, to which Percassi responded: “Yes. I take the liberty of saying that it is not that a crazy offer must arrive but it must be congruent with the value of the player”.
The Atalanta CEO even referenced Tottenham’s managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, simply stating (Football Italia): “I wish Fabio Paratici the best because he deserves so, we are trying to bring useful players to Atalanta.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
It appears that a deal is there for Spurs if they pay a fair price for Romero in the near future. With Atalanta probably paying around £14m for him, I would imagine that they would want something in the region of double to triple that price.
Have something to tell us about this article?
