Atletico Madrid ready to make £26m move for Cristian Romero after three sales in four days

Atletico Madrid are closer than ever to signing Cristian Romero after raising the funds and creating the necessary space in their wage bill through three departures completed in the past four days.

Sporting director Matteo Alemany has led a rapid drive to finance the club’s recruitment plans, with Tottenham Hotspur defender Romero identified as a top priority for Atletico’s defence, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

The breakthrough followed the completion of Mateo Ruggeri’s move to Aston Villa, Nahuel Molina’s transfer to Roma and a final agreement for Thiago Almada to join River Plate.

Almada’s move to River Plate was concluded after several weeks of negotiations with Flamengo, who had also been involved in discussions over the Argentina international. River will pay approximately €20m for the player, allowing Almada to resume his career in his home country.

The midfielder had been preparing to report to Argentina’s national team camp at the Cerro training centre next Monday. However, he is now expected to cut short his holiday in Ibiza and travel to Buenos Aires to complete the formalities of his transfer.

The three deals have given Atletico significant financial flexibility. Almada’s move is expected to bring €20m into the club, while Ruggeri’s transfer is worth €18m in guaranteed payments plus a further €6m in potential bonuses. Molina’s move to Roma is valued at €19m, including €13m in fixed fees.

That leaves Atletico with enough resources to make an opening offer to Tottenham for Romero. The proposal is expected to be worth €30m.

Romero is waiting for the transfer to be resolved, while there is cautious optimism within Atletico that an agreement can be reached. The Argentina defender is regarded as the preferred addition to strengthen the centre of the defence.

However, Alemany’s work is not complete, with Atletico’s remaining recruitment activity still dependent on further departures. The club must also replace Antoine Griezmann, Almada and Nico Gonzalez, having so far added only Kang-in Lee during the current rebuilding process.

Atletico are operating under a “one player leaves, one player comes in” policy. Any move for Nico Gonzalez is dependent on another player leaving first, while the arrival of an additional striker would require at least two departures.

Jose Maria Gimenez, Thomas Lemar and Carlos Martin are among those considered possible exits. The club also expects further income from the sales of academy players, following the departures of Jano Monserrate, Julio Diaz, Kostis and Moutchou.

Until those situations are settled, Atletico’s two remaining recruitment priorities will remain on hold. The progress made on Romero represents a major step forward, but further business will depend on Alemany completing more sales and maintaining the club’s financial balance.