Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici has reportedly identified Atalanta centre-back Cristian Romero as an ideal signing for the club this summer.

The Argentina international is emerging as a priority for Spurs, but tension is growing in negotiations over the €55million-rated star, according to Fabrizio Romano in his Benchwarmers column.

In a possible boost for Tottenham, Romano writes that Romero himself is keen to play for the north London giants, and negotiations are ongoing.

This could be the start of a new era for Spurs as Nuno Espirito Santo has replaced Jose Mourinho as manager, while Paratici will hope to make an impact with his work in the transfer market after earning a fine reputation from his time at Juventus.

MORE: Tottenham could anger old boss Mourinho with bid for Roma star

Delivering a signing like Romero would represent a strong start, but it doesn’t look like it will be easy for Tottenham to get this deal done.

€55m would be a lot to spend on a centre-back, though it makes sense to make it a priority as Toby Alderweireld has just left the club.

Much of Spurs’ recent success was built around the solid defensive pairing of Alderweireld and former team-mate Jan Vertonghen, so with both those players now gone, it could take a player of Romero’s quality to ensure this team remains a serious contender for the top four.

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