Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham star ‘willing to join’ Real Madrid, with damaging January raid plans in place

Tottenham's Cristian Romero continues to be linked with Real Madrid

Tottenham's Cristian Romero is said to be willing to move to Real Madrid

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero is reportedly ‘willing to join’ Real Madrid, with the Spanish giants ‘planning to make a move’ for him in January.

Real decided against bolstering their defensive ranks in the summer. That was despite the fact they lost long-term asset Nacho Fernandez on a free transfer, and sold Rafa Marin.

Links to Aymeric Laporte arose, but were shut down, with Carlo Ancelotti adamant that he did not need to strengthen at centre-back.

But now, it seems he has changed his tune. Indeed, transfer insider Ekrem Konur has stated that Real are ‘planning to make a move’ for Tottenham central defender Romero in January.

And they have been given confidence that they can get him.

That’s as the Argentine defender is said to be ‘willing to join’ the Spanish giants if an offer comes his way.

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Romero strongly linked with Real

That Real are now eager to sign Romero is not a surprise. Links between the defender and the La Liga club have existed for quite some time.

In the summer, it was suggested that a bid was going to come in for the important Tottenham man.

It did not, but he will be watched closely by Real throughout this season.

Indeed, it’s said they are to send their chief scout to attend Sunday’s north London derby, to check on the performance of the Spurs centre-back.

Real keen on talent in England

It is believed that William Saliba is also one of the reasons for the attendance of a Real scout.

Indeed, he has also been strongly linked with them, with it being suggested they could also soon move for the Arsenal defender.

Meanwhile, Championship star Chris Rigg is on the radar of the Spaniards, as a result of some good performances for Sunderland, while still just 17 years of age.

Further afield, goalkeeper Mike Maignan is of interest to Real, despite Andriy Lunin recently penning new terms with the club.

Interest in the AC Milan man was exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk.

Romero could be next Spurs talent to join Real

There are a couple of very notable examples of players who have taken a huge step in their career, joining Real from Tottenham.

Luka Modric did so in 2012, and he is still representing the Spanish giants, 540 games, 39 goals and 86 assists later.

The Croatian midfielder has won 26 team honours in his time as a Real player, as well as winning the 2018 Ballon d’Or award.

Gareth Bale headed to Madrid from north London in 2013. He immediately became a star in Spain after his £85million transfer.

In 258 games, he bagged 106 goals, as well as 67 assists, while also winning 16 team honours with the Spanish giants.

If Romero is to move, he is likely to have a much more successful time of it in Spain than in north London, with Tottenham not having won a trophy since 2008, a triumph which Bale was part of.

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