Barcelona are reportedly continuing to hold an interest in Argentine defender Cristian Romero, who signed for Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
According to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, Barcelona are continuing to keep their eyes on Tottenham defender Cristian Romero after having missed out on his signing this past summer.
Romero, 23, burst onto the scenes in Italy with Genoa before earning a move away to Juventus in 2019. However, he spent the next couple of seasons out on loan at Genoa and Atalanta, with the latter spell proving to be a game-changing one for the Argentine.
Indeed, the 23-year-old was named the best defender in Serie A for the 2020/21 season, prompting Atalanta to sign him on permanently. Interest in him was pretty strong all throughout the summer, especially after his role in the Copa America 2021 triumph with Argentina, with Barcelona among the clubs keen on landing the South American.
Romero himself admitted that Lionel Messi wanted him to join Barcelona before the 34-year-old left for Paris Saint-Germain. However, the Catalans’ financial issues meant that they could not push through with a move and the Argentine international ended up signing for Tottenham Hotspur.
Romero has not featured a lot for the Lilywhites since joining but has looked solid each time he has taken the field. And, as per the aforementioned report, Barcelona will continue to hold an interest in him if he keeps up with his current level of performance.
Barcelona, despite having brought in Eric Garcia already this summer, will need defensive reinforcements once again next year. Veteran defender Gerard Pique is very much in the final phase of his career and is not getting any younger. In addition, Samuel Umtiti is terribly out of favour under manager Ronald Koeman.
With Clement Lenglet also falling down the pecking order of things, a new central defender in 2022 becomes a necessary addition for the Catalans. To that end, they have been linked with a move for LOSC Lille’s Sven Botman while Aymeric Laporte of Manchester City also remains a target.
Apart from these, the Blaugrana are also continuing to keep tabs on Romero and remain interested in him, despite his recent switch to Tottenham. Any move though, will hard to pull off because the north London giants are unlikely to be willing to let go of the Argentine that easily having only signed him recently.
