Atletico de Madrid agree deal for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero in boost to Julian Alvarez hopes

Atletico de Madrid have reached a preliminary agreement with Tottenham to sign Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero, in a deal that could also help to persuade his international team-mate Julian Alvarez to remain at the Spanish club.

The agreement for Romero is understood to be worth about 40m euros, including add-ons. The proposed fee is made up of an initial 35m euros and a further 5m euros in potential bonuses.

According to Marca, negotiations between the two clubs accelerated on Wednesday night after several days of discussions with the player. If the remaining arrangements proceed smoothly, Romero is expected to travel to Madrid on Thursday to undergo a medical.

Atletico regard the 27-year-old as one of the leading centre-backs in world football and believe his arrival would significantly strengthen Diego Simeone’s defence. Romero, who is known by the nickname “Cuti”, is also widely associated with an aggressive and combative style of play, which has earned him the description “the madman”.

The move gathered pace after Atletico began preparing for the possible departures of Nahuel Molina and Matteo Ruggeri. With both full-backs expected to leave and Thiago Almada moving to River Plate, sporting director Mateu Alemany renewed the club’s efforts to complete a long-standing target.

Romero had been Atletico’s leading defensive objective last season. However, Tottenham’s financial demands at the time led the Madrid club to withdraw from the competition for his signature.

A year later, the Argentina international is now close to securing the move he had wanted. Romero had reportedly favoured Atletico’s proposal over offers from other major European clubs and is keen to work under Simeone.

His arrival would therefore satisfy the player’s long-held ambition while giving Atletico an experienced international defender to add to their squad. The preliminary agreement still needs to be completed, with the medical examination and final stages of the transfer to follow.

The deal may also have implications beyond Atletico’s defence. Previous reports suggested Romero could provide an unexpected answer to the uncertainty surrounding Julian Alvarez, with the two players understood to have a particularly strong relationship.

Atletico are expected to use Romero’s arrival as part of their effort to convince Alvarez to stay at the club rather than pursue a move to Barcelona. The club hope the defender’s presence, combined with their friendship from Argentina duty, will help persuade the forward to abandon the idea of leaving.

For now, Atletico’s priority is to complete Romero’s transfer after reaching the initial understanding with Tottenham. If the medical and final negotiations are successfully concluded, the Argentine defender will become one of the club’s most important additions of the current summer transfer window.