The rather curious case of Cristian Romero’s signature was brought up yesterday afternoon by the Daily Telgraph’s Mike McGrath, who has seemingly answered the long-running question on the lips of many Spurs fans: what is going on with Romero’s contract? Is it permanent, or simply a loan?
Well, McGrath claims to have the answer, reporting that after his impressive displays for Spurs this season, Romero’s loan deal will become a permanent one at some point this month for a fee of £41 million, taking the total fee paid for his services to £47 million. This figure, according to McGrath, is the sum of the fee we will pay this summer and the loan fee we’ve already given Romero’s parent club Atalanta that has covered the past year.
A rather bizarre scenario seems to be finally approaching some resolution – we still don’t know when this deal will be made permanent, but it appears to be sooner rather than later, as has been the case for a while. Nevertheless, McGrath’s news will still come as a relief to many Spurs fans, among whom Romero has enjoyed a cult-hero status for his abrasive character and passionate displays, despite only being at the club for a season.
I for one am delighted that we’ve got him in our ranks – he’s a warrior, and as much as I admire our defensive personnel, there’s no-one like him in our backline. Here’s hoping he can survive a gruelling season and stay fit for as long as the campaign allows.