Cristian Romero joins Spurs: 5 things you need to know about new signing

After weeks of speculation, Spurs have finally got the Cristian Romero deal over the line.

Tottenham have just announced the Argentina international’s arrival at N17.

While Spurs haven’t disclosed the fee to sign Romero, reports claim they’ve paid €55million (around £47million) for his services.

In addition, he is reported to have signed a five-year contract at Tottenham.

So as Cristian Romero joins Spurs, here are 5 things you need to know about the new signing.

Romero is a major international trophy winner

The 23-year-old only won his first Argentina cap in June this year, but he is already has a major international winners’ medal.

Lionel Scaloni gave Romero his debut in the World Cup qualifying draw with Chile on June 4, where he played the full 90 minutes.

Romero then played 65 minutes five days later, in the 2-2 draw with Colombia.

Then came the Copa America, and although he suffered from injuries at the tournament, he managed to make three appearances.

One of those was in the final against hosts Brazil, playing 79 minutes as Argentina ran out 1-0 winners to lift the trophy.

To highlight how good Romero was, the Albiceleste didn’t concede a single goal in his 259 minutes on the pitch.

Serie A is a league known for having boasted some of the best defenders in football history.

And last season, Romero etched his name in Serie A folklore by being named the best defender in the league.

In 29 league appearances for Atalanta, Romero made 2 tackles, 3.1 interceptions, 2.3 fouls, 2.2 clearances and 0.4 blocks per match.

His efforts helped the Bergamo side finish third in Serie A with the fifth-best defensive record in the league.

Nuno Espirito Santo is a big fan of a back three, and Romero’s signing hints that he may switch to this setup at Spurs.

The Argentine is accustomed to playing in a three-man defence from his time at Genoa and Atalanta.

Over the years, Romero has impressed both on the right-hand side of the three and in the middle.

Juventus bought Romero from Genoa for a reported £23.4million in 2019.

They loaned him back to Genoa for the 2019-20 season, and last summer, he joined Atalanta.

This was on a two-year loan with an option to buy for around £13.8million.

Atalanta took up that option on Friday just before selling Romero to Spurs.

Who knows whether Juve regret making that agreement with La Dea last year…

Spanish publication Marca have claimed that Spurs signing Romero contributed to Lionel Messi and Barcelona parting company.

Apparently one of the initial reasons Messi was unhappy with Barca was because they missed out on his international teammate.

According to The Boy Hotspur, however, Messi’s camp have denied those claims.

Romero’s name was on Barca’s wishlist but his signing was not an express request for Messi and therefore not a reason for the break, they wrote.