Garth Crooks says 25-year-old Tottenham player was ‘outstanding’ vs Manchester United

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Garth Crooks has heaped praise on Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero after his display against Manchester United over the weekend.

Crooks has selected Romero in his Team of the Week for BBC Sport and labelled his performance as ‘outstanding’.

Tottenham picked up an impressive 2-0 win over United on Saturday after weathering an early storm in the game.

Ange Postecoglou’s men rode their luck at times in the first half but were fully deserving of the win after dominating from the 30th minute onwards.

Romero has got off to a flyer this season after netting in the opener against Brentford last weekend.

The 25-year-old was brought off with a head injury shortly after his goal but he returned with an emphatic display against United.

He’s already struck up a promising partnership with summer signing Micky van de Ven and Crooks was impressed with the Argentine on Saturday.

Crooks on Romero

Crooks believes Romero became frustrated last season due to consistently poor Spurs performances.

The pundit says that contributed to his often shaky displays but feels he was brilliant for Tottenham on Saturday. 

“We know this footballer is a good defender,” Crook said. “You don’t play for Argentina in the World Cup final if you can’t play.

“Towards the end of last season I thought Romero became a little tired after his exploits in Qatar, as well as frustrated by the poor performance of Spurs, forcing him to make tackles he had no right to make.

“He was unlucky to be substituted against Brentford on the opening day of the season with suspected concussion but was outstanding against Manchester United.

“Well done Michael Oliver for not giving a handball against Romero here when it was clearly ball to hand and travelling at the speed of light. Everyone knows the rule is a bad one.”

Romero didn’t enjoy his best season last time out as he was often a liability in what was a poor Spurs backline.

But it’s clear the Argentina international is Tottenham’s most gifted defender and the early signs have been positive this season.

His composure on the ball is a huge weapon for Spurs and his progressive passing helped them cause United big problems on Saturday.

Postecoglou will certainly be hoping that Romero continues his promising form and builds a strong relationship with Van de Ven at the heart of Tottenham’s backline.