On one end where Micky van de Ven is close to signing a new deal at Tottenham Hotspur, his centre-back partner Cristian Romero appears on the verge of leaving the club.

The Argentina defender has also attracted interest from reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan during the current transfer window, while he was previously linked with Barcelona. Inter Milan and Tottenham had reached an agreement over a €40m fee at the start of the week, but failure to sort out the personal terms with the central defender allowed Atletico Madrid to swoop in.

In the last couple of days, Atletico Madrid have stepped up their pursuit of Cristian Romero. The La Liga club have made the Tottenham skipper their main defensive target of the summer transfer window and are currently positioned as the frontrunners for his signature. Now, reputed journalist Fabrizio Romano has delivered a fresh update on Atletico Madrid’s position on the player.

Atletico Madrid plotting official bid for Cristian Romero

Atletico Madrid have already reached an agreement on personal terms with Romero. They now need to find a similar accord with the North London club’s hierarchy.

As such, Fabrizio Romano has now revealed on X that Los Rojiblancos are preparing a new official bid for Romero. The Spanish club are ahead of Inter Milan and have started negotiations with Tottenham. The 28-year-old is keen on a move to Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone has been a huge admirer of Romero and views him as the perfect addition to his defensive ranks ahead of the 2026/27 campaign. The go-ahead from the player’s end has already come, as evidenced by the agreement on personal terms with the Spanish outfit. La Liga remains the Argentine’s preference since last year and it looks like he is finally getting his wish fulfilled.

Having hijacked Inter’s pursuit, Atletico are now aiming to agree a fee with Spurs as quickly as possible. Romero, who played in all seven matches during Argentina’s run to a second successive World Cup final last month, has spent four years at Tottenham and made 123 total Premier League appearances since arriving from Serie A side Atalanta in 2022. The South American star notably produced a Man of the Match performance in the 2024/25 Europa League final vs. Manchester United, which Spurs won.

Although the former Atalanta man has a tendency to pick up unnecessary red cards, he is a top-class defender on his day and is currently at the prime stages of his career. Due to his aggressive, front-footed style of defending, he is perfectly suited to Simeone’s system at Atletico.