Real Madrid to ‘offer £86.6m’ for Tottenham star and are confident ‘record deal’ will be done – report

Tottenham Hotspur are set to face a huge transfer headache amid strong reports in Spain that claim Real Madrid are to offer them a staggering €100m fee to sign Cristian Romero, though TEAMtalk can explain why such claims must be treated with caution.

The Spanish giants are trailing Barcelona by a point in the LaLiga title race and on Wednesday night suffered a heavy 4-2 defeat away to Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, which saw Real Madrid drop out of the top eight of the Champions League table and condemned them to a play-off place to secure a place in the last 16.

After shipping an unacceptable 12 goals in eight games across the Champions League, coupled with the long-term injury to Eder Militao, reports in Spain now claim that Los Blancos president Florentino Perez has now decided to act with immediate effect – and has set his sights on a deal for Tottenham star Romero.

And according to Spanish outlet Fichajes, their ‘latest sporting failures’ – including the Copa del Rey exit to Segunda Division side Albacete, which ‘left deep wounds’ – means Real Madrid will now ‘seek immediate solutions’ to fix their problems.

As a result, it’s claimed Perez has now ‘decided to intervene’ by offering Tottenham a hefty €100m (£86.6m, $120m) fee to convince them to sell Romero, believing the much-swelled fee will leave Spurs with no option but to cash in.

The report adds that the addition of Romero is seen by Perez as a ‘vital necessity to inject aggression and character’ into their back four and ‘the €100m offered is intended to overcome any resistance from the English club’.

Such a move, were it to be accepted, would be the third largest deal anywhere in the January window, sitting third behind the €121m paid by Chelsea to Benfica for Enzo Fernandes and the colossal €135m Barcelona spent on luring Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool.

That fee would also match the record fee ever received by Tottenham; the €100m spent by Real on Gareth Bale in the summer of 2013.

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Tottenham stance on selling Romero this month

Links between Romero and Real Madrid are nothing new, with the Argentina international revealing last April that a summer move to the Bernabeu would seriously tempt him.

Admitting his wish to grow and progress his career, the 27-year-old was asked which league he could see himself playing in next were he to leave Spurs – and his reply will only serve to fuel those rumours.

“The league I’m missing is Spain’s. I’d love to, honestly. La Liga. I’d love to play there because it’s the one I haven’t played in yet,” he stated.

However, with his defensive partner Micky van de Ven – himself a long-term Real Madrid target – currently sidelined, Tottenham could absolutely ill-afford to lose Romero at this moment in time.

And while sources are refusing to rule out the prospect of the Spanish giants trying their luck in the summer, we’ve been given no indications that a move, no matter how big the offer, would be green-lit this month.

Van de Ven, meanwhile, was absent from the squad that travelled to Germany to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in their final Champions League group fixture that saw Spurs pick up an impressive 2-0 to book a place in the last 16 and ease the pressure on manager Thomas Frank.

While Van de Ven will be assessed and could return to the squad for Sunday’s testing home clash against title hopefuls Manchester City, the club will be without Pedro Porro, who now faces a month on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

Currently ravaged by injuries, Spurs fielded a back four of Romero, Kevin Danso, flanked by Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie at Deutsche Bank Park, though Frank will be heartened by another UCL clean sheet.

Romero came in for praise after Wednesday night’s game, with the Argentine adding an assist (for Randal Kolo Muani) to his growing goal contributions list for the season.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Stephen Warnock said: “They were clinical, and that was the most important thing when you’re looking to score goals away from home. Kolo Muani does extremely well because what you need is your striker in the middle of the penalty area to get you goals.

“Credit to Romero, he is a threat from set pieces, and that back-post header is such a sensible, smart header. He’s put it into an area and hopes that’s where his striker is. It’s a scruffy finish, but it doesn’t matter.”

Real Madrid step away from Bayern defender; Spurs given Robertson hope

Meanwhile, Real Madrid have reportedly decided to step away from signing a top Bayern Munich star this summer, effectively giving Liverpool a clear run at his signing.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid have made it clear to Alvaro Arbeloa what he needs to do to stay as Los Blancos manager for the long term amid interest in former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, with a report revealing the outrageous swap deal that Chelsea are planning to take Vinicius Junior to Stamford Bridge.

Over in north London, Spurs have been told they still have a significant chance of signing Andy Robertson before the transfer window slams shut, with Liverpool’s transfer trigger now coming to light.

And finally, while they may have already signed Conor Gallagher in the January transfer window, Frank’s side are now actively trying to bring in a Bayern Munich midfielder, too, according to a source.

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