Garth Crooks says he was ‘furious’ with 25-year-old Tottenham player but he’s totally changed now

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Garth Crooks has expressed his delight at seeing how Cristian Romero has changed this game this season, as he suggested that the Tottenham Hotspur defender looked immense against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Spurs picked up a massive win in the race to finish in the top-four in the Premier League. At half-time, it was hard to know which way the clash at Villa Park was going. But Ange Postecoglou’s side put their foot on the accelerator in the second-half.

Villa somewhat lost their heads in the second-half, with John McGinn expressing his frustration with a wild swipe at Destiny Udogie which had to be a red card.

Cristian Romero immense in Tottenham win

Cristian Romero meanwhile, did not even collect a booking in the game. In fact, the Argentinian remains on just four cautions for the campaign in the Premier League.

And writing for BBC Sport, Garth Crooks insisted that he was impressed, not only by Romero’s performance but also by his attitude as the game had the potential to boil over.

“Last week it was Micky van de Ven who made my team selection, but this week it is Romero and for very good reason. The Argentina international was the coolest defender on the pitch and needed to be as it got a little heated at Villa Park. Romero became more prominent in the second half due to the departure of the impressive Van de Ven, who suffered an injury but was performing brilliantly at the time,” he said.

“Once van de Ven left the pitch Romero took control and looked immense. Regular readers will know how furious I was with Romero because the defender was repeatedly getting sent off quite needlessly. However, he seems to have re-evaluated his game and realised that really good defenders don’t have to kick their opponents – just defend.”

Spurs defender needs that edge to his game

People at Tottenham have noticed how Romero appears to have matured this season. It was also noted that Romero did not react to Crystal Palace players trying to wind him up in Spurs’ recent win. In fact, the 25-year-old went on to score in that game.

The red card against Chelsea in November probably shows that that side of his game is never going to go entirely. And you would not be surprised if he makes further mistakes in his career.

But his game has to have an edge to it. It helped him become Serie A’s best defender the year before he joined Spurs. And of course, he helped Argentina win the World Cup just over a year ago.

Tottenham have got Romero as he heads into his peak. His potential is frightening.