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Thomas Frank identifies Tottenham centrepiece ahead of N17 rebuild; reliable journo confirms

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Jul 2, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Tottenham and Thomas Frank are doing everything possible to keep hold of Cristian Romero amid Atletico Madrid interest

Tottenham have welcomed Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel on permanent deals to kickstart their summer transfer business. While they are closing in on the signing of young Japanese defender Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale, the Lilywhites must up their ante and bring in some established players to build on their last season’s Europa League success.

As much as bringing in new, exciting players is required, retaining the best players from the current roster will be vital if new boss Thomas Frank wants to make Spurs ‘serial winners’ in the coming years. Cristian Romero is one of those players the club are striving hard to keep hold of amid heavy links with Spanish side Atletico Madrid.

Atletico Madrid’s interest in the Tottenham defender is not a secret anymore. Ever since admitting his desire to play in La Liga, Atletico boss Diego Simeone publicly called Cristian Romero a “great player” in June.

There were reports of an agreement between both clubs for the transfer of the Argentinean international, but it turned out to be far from the truth. And now it has emerged that Thomas Frank has decided that he wants to keep the 2022 World Cup winner at the club and build the team around him.

This has been revealed by Alasdair Gold. The reputed Football London journalist claims the club and Frank are doing everything possible to keep hold of Romero, but it will be important to know what exactly the centre-back wants at this stage of his career.

“I think the key thing for me is that Thomas Frank really wants to keep him; he wants him to become a lynchpin of this new look Tottenham going forward. He can absolutely be that,” Alasdair Gold said on Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast.

“With two years left, Spurs have still got the power, so it doesn’t really matter too much if the player is absolutely desperate and anxious to leave – I’m not saying he is.

“It could be that Romero feels like he wants a shot at the Champions League at Spurs, it may be that he feels he’s got enough time in his career to head off to La Liga at a later stage. But we’ll need to hear from him and not put words in his mouth.”

“But we certainly know that the club and Thomas Frank want to keep him.”

Romero still has two years remaining on his contract, which means Spurs are still in a strong negotiating position with Atletico. Indeed, they have the right to stand firm on their asking price for their best defender, which is over £60 million.

Given the tight financial situation at Atletico, they may struggle to meet Tottenham’s valuation of the 27-year-old. The Lilywhites must avoid giving any discounts to Los Rojiblancos, as a player of Romero’s calibre, experience and leadership quality warrants that price tag. If the La Liga side cannot splash the cash, our star defender will stay at the club.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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