Arsenal linked with shock Tottenham raid as De Zerbi makes telling transfer and squad declaration

Arsenal have been linked with a wantaway Tottenham star, at a time when Roberto De Zerbi has issued a clear message to his squad.

The Italian kept Tottenham in the Premier League by the finest of margins after taking over at the end of March when they were in deep relegation trouble.

After spending more than £220m on midfielders Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes and centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, Spurs are trying to offload some players to make ends meet.

One such player is midfielder Lucas Bergvall and the other is centre-back Cristian Romero. After Nottingham Forest had a £38m offer for the Swede rejected, De Zerbi has stated that players who are not happy at the club should leave.

He said before his side’s pre-season friendly against Auckland FC in New Zealand, “I was very clear at the start of my time in Tottenham. I said, who doesn’t want to stay in Tottenham?

“Who is not happy, is not proud to stay here, has to leave. I want the players to be proud and happy to stay here, to go on the pitch in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with big motivation. Because now in football, if you think also in the World Cup, the motivation makes the difference.”

On Bergvall specifically, the Italian added, “I have not spoken with Lucas yet. I will in the next days and we will make the best decision for the club, for Lucas, for me, for every one of us, without problems. Lucas is a big, big talent.

“There will be a big competition to play because at the end, I think we will be two players for each position. If he wants to stay, I will be happy. Otherwise, we have to find a new solution with [sporting director] Johan Lange, with [chief executive] Vinai [Venkatesham]. It’s not my business after the decision to leave.”

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Forest are expected to return with a second £45m bid for the 20-year-old and at the same time, Bergvall’s Tottenham teammate Romero is attracting interest from abroad.

Arsenal linked with Cristian Romero

As per Corriere dello Sport, via Sport Witness, Inter Milan and Barcelona are supposedly tracking the Argentina international, who is currently on a break after representing his country at the World Cup.

Romero is said to be open to a move to the San Siro, with the Italian giants being in contact with the 28-year-old’s representatives.

Spurs have reportedly slapped a £42.5m price tag on Romero’s head, a fee that may put off Inter. However, the north London team are reportedly ready to lower their demands to secure a deal.

Romero’s agent Ciro Palermo and intermediary Vincent Casella were seen in Milan on Friday, but according to the report, a transfer may be tough due to the rival interest.

Sensationally, they claim that bitter rivals Arsenal are in for Romero. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners could be without centre-back William Saliba for a while due a back issue but a move for the Spurs man still seems remote.

Incidentally, it does seem that there will be more arrivals and outgoings at Tottenham.

De Zerbi added, “First of all, I think it’s not finished yet, our transfer market window. We have to finish, we have to bring another couple of, maybe more, maybe not less, but a couple of players.”

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