Tottenham Hotspur's season continues to go from bad to worse in recent months as they try and salvage whatever remains of their dismal campaign which has left them out of both domestic cups and sat 14th in the Premier League.
Speculation surrounding manager Ange Postecoglou's future continues to grow following a run of three wins in their last nine games in all competitions, with formerly crucial first-team players repeatedly failing to meet the required performance levels.
Elsewhere, injuries have ravaged the squad this season, perhaps the main reason the Australian still has his job, with the likes of Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke and Guglielmo Vicario all suffering significant respective periods on the sidelines.
Spurs defender 'willing to do everything' to leave the club
Another such player is World Cup winner Cristian Romero, who has spent the past few seasons establishing himself as the rock of Spurs' defence having signed from Atalanta on a permanent deal in 2022.
The Argentine's brazen physicality and habit of getting himself sent off was often overlooked by his imperious presence at the back in recent years, forming one of the Premier League's best defensive partnerships with Van de Ven prior to the duo missing the majority of the current campaign leading to him being recognised by FourFourTwo in our list of the best centre-backs in the world.
However, having already missed over half of the league games this season, intense speculation now suggests that Romero is edging towards an exit from North London, with Atletico Madrid believed to be the most interested party.
Sky Sports claim that the Spanish giants are going all-in on a summer move for the 26-year-old, who enters the final two years of his contract this summer.
Elsewhere, journalist Matteo Moretto claims that the Argentine 'is willing to do everything' to leave the club this summer, suggesting an exit has been initiated by the player himself amid Spurs' poor run of form.
Having paid close to £50 million for the player in 2022, Daniel Levy is likely to demand a figure close to the fee Atletico forked out for Julian Alvarez last summer to make a move happen, providing a big stumbling block in negotiations so far.
FourFourTwo understands that Spurs could start the bidding at a whopping €95m – which would put the World Cup winner in the upper echelon of sales from North London alongside Harry Kane and Gareth Bale.
It's Tottenham policy to only sell for huge profit – and with Romero the Lilywhites' fifth-most expensive signing ever, Levy would ideally want to charge double what the club spent.
The defender has made over 100 appearances for the club and would leave Postecoglou's side scrambling for replacements, with Radu Dragusin currently facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
Kevin Danso's recent injury further amplifies the need for reinforcements, leaving the Carabao Cup semi-finalists with a headache this summer.
