Report: Tottenham in advanced talks with Atalanta’s Cristian Romero, Pierluigi Gollini

Tottenham Hotspur remain in the search for a center back this summer, and there is reportedly a new player in the mix. Per football.london, Cristian Romero is the leading contender among the other center back targets to join Spurs.

The report says Spurs are in advanced talks with Atalanta to sign both Romero and goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. Romero is technically a Juventus player on loan at Atalanta; he joined Atalanta ahead of the 2020-21 season for a two year loan with an option to buy. According to football.london, Atalanta plan to pick up the option a year early and would then sell him to Tottenham.

Romero is coming off a successful year, first helping Atalanta to a third place finish in Serie A and qualifying for a Champions League spot. He won Serie A’s defender of the year award at the end of the season, and then went on to win the Copa América with Argentina this month.

The additional reporting on Gollini backs up a similar report from DiMarzio last week, and again notes the Italian goalkeeper as a possible replacement for team captain Hugo Lloris. The football.london report also clears up speculation around Gollini’s status on the Spurs roster, should he make the move — despite time spent at Manchester United and Aston Villa, he would not be considered a homegrown player.

Considering Fabio Paratici’s now well-discussed strategy of negotiating for a lot of players in any given position and signing only one, it feels like a wait-and-see approach might be required here. Romero might be one of the more realistic candidates at center back, particularly compared to Sevilla’s Jules Koundé, As for Gollini, it feels like the biggest change in a Lloris transfer saga that always seems possible but has yet to truly begin.