Player Watch: Cristian Romero

[HildoSpur]

I’m not saying that we should sell him, but this is potentially one of the strongest CB markets we’ve seen for a long time. Yoro, Hato, Silva, Diomande all likely to be snapped up within the next 12-18 months. Branthwaite and Guehi are probably going to move this window and could solve the HG problem as well. Bayern want to cut their losses on De Ligt and Kim.

Again, I absolutely don’t want us to sell him, but I don’t see him signing a long term contract so it just comes down to timing really. Maybe this is as good a time as any. Right now this team still isn’t close to competing so maybe it’s better to rip the bandaid off now.

None of them are as good as Romero in my opinion so why would we sell him only to replace him with an expensive player who isn't as good?

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

None of them are as good as Romero in my opinion so why would we sell him only to replace him with an expensive player who isn't as good?

This is it. If we sell him we’re weakening the team. It’s that simple.

 

[TPdYID]

None of them are as good as Romero in my opinion so why would we sell him only to replace him with an expensive player who isn't as good?

Exactly. Why sell high only to buy (a likely inferior product) high.

We only stand to lose.

 

[Cornpattbuck]

I’m not saying that we should sell him, but this is potentially one of the strongest CB markets we’ve seen for a long time. Yoro, Hato, Silva, Diomande all likely to be snapped up within the next 12-18 months. Branthwaite and Guehi are probably going to move this window and could solve the HG problem as well. Bayern want to cut their losses on De Ligt and Kim.

Again, I absolutely don’t want us to sell him, but I don’t see him signing a long term contract so it just comes down to timing really. Maybe this is as good a time as any. Right now this team still isn’t close to competing so maybe it’s better to rip the bandaid off now.

Because Dier is outperforming them both...

 

[purplemonkey]

None of them are as good as Romero in my opinion so why would we sell him only to replace him with an expensive player who isn't as good?

Because I’m assuming that Romero will want to leave at some point anyway, so we only have a year left before we enter the dreaded contract stand off and his value starts declining fairly rapidly.

Most of the options I mentioned are far younger - not as good currently, for sure - but with extremely high ceilings. Many of them won’t be available in a year or two years time, or if they are, they’ll cost a lot more than the money we’d receive for Romero.

It’s a short term vs long term trade off. I don’t see us competing in the short term, but I think our long term prospects are pretty bright.

 

[mil1lion]

Defence was a massive problem this season.

People question whether we sell our best defender.

 

[TPdYID]

Because I’m assuming that Romero will want to leave at some point anyway, so we only have a year left before we enter the dreaded contract stand off and his value starts declining fairly rapidly.

Most of the options I mentioned are far younger - not as good currently, for sure - but with extremely high ceilings. Many of them won’t be available in a year or two years time, or if they are, they’ll cost a lot more than the money we’d receive for Romero.

It’s a short term vs long term trade off. I don’t see us competing in the short term, but I think our long term prospects are pretty bright.

Sometimes it's a matter of who blinks first.

Saliba was approaching the final 2 years of his contract and there was a lot of transfer talk around which 'top team' would make the first bid.

All eyes were on Arsenal to see if they would stick or twist. Arsenal decided to stick. Saliba breaks into the team, he gets into toty and as a club they make the UCL. Saliba decides that his best next move is to actually sign a new deal and remain.

That flip-flop moment whether to stick or twist was dealt with conviction and belief.

Why cant we make UCL with Romero in toty? Captaining Argentina once Leo has hung them up? Signs a new 5 year deal and we build the side around him and MVdV?

 

[Japhet]

Defence was a massive problem this season.

People question whether we sell our best defender.

They'd have done a whole lot better if the players in front of them stopped coughing up possession so weakly and consistently.

 

[HildoSpur]

Because I’m assuming that Romero will want to leave at some point anyway, so we only have a year left before we enter the dreaded contract stand off and his value starts declining fairly rapidly.

Most of the options I mentioned are far younger - not as good currently, for sure - but with extremely high ceilings. Many of them won’t be available in a year or two years time, or if they are, they’ll cost a lot more than the money we’d receive for Romero.

It’s a short term vs long term trade off. I don’t see us competing in the short term, but I think our long term prospects are pretty bright.

Romero is only 26! He is not even at his peak as a defender yet and could potentially play for us for the next 8 years or more. No way should we consider selling him unless we are offered something absolutely ridiculous.

 

[TPdYID]

No way should we consider selling him unless we are offered something absolutely ridiculous

And even then, when you approach his replacement the selling club have you over a barrel. That's why succession planning is essential, so we're not left being held to ransom.

 

[SuperLuka]

Sometimes it's a matter of who blinks first.

Saliba was approaching the final 2 years of his contract and there was a lot of transfer talk around which 'top team' would make the first bid.

All eyes were on Arsenal to see if they would stick or twist. Arsenal decided to stick. Saliba breaks into the team, he gets into toty and as a club they make the UCL. Saliba decides that his best next move is to actually sign a new deal and remain.

That flip-flop moment whether to stick or twist was dealt with conviction and belief.

Why cant we make UCL with Romero in toty? Captaining Argentina once Leo has hung them up? Signs a new 5 year deal and we build the side around him and MVdV?

He's unlikely to sign a new deal and if Real are interested, it's definitely not happening.

 

[Coolpudge]

I’m not saying that we should sell him, but this is potentially one of the strongest CB markets we’ve seen for a long time. Yoro, Hato, Silva, Diomande all likely to be snapped up within the next 12-18 months. Branthwaite and Guehi are probably going to move this window and could solve the HG problem as well. Bayern want to cut their losses on De Ligt and Kim.

Again, I absolutely don’t want us to sell him, but I don’t see him signing a long term contract so it just comes down to timing really. Maybe this is as good a time as any. Right now this team still isn’t close to competing so maybe it’s better to rip the bandaid off now.

I like the idea of getting Branthwaite or Guehi but don’t they play on the left so the would be better suited to being Van De Ven replacement. Not a Romero one.

I’m not as opposed to selling him as some others in this thread. In the past Spurs have done a terrible job of selling players at the right time. Especially under Pochettino when they could have got a lot of money for players like Eriksen, Dele or Dier and used that money to improve the team but he has three years left on his deal and I don’t think we need to sell him yet. Not unless the offer is over £100 million.

 

[mil1lion]

They'd have done a whole lot better if the players in front of them stopped coughing up possession so weakly and consistently.

Combination of those things though. We were also conceding goals post Alderweireld and Vertonghen even when we used 2 defensive midfielders and had Kane up top. Having a settled centre back pairing who are top level is so key to success at this level. It's no coincidence we haven't been the same since those 2 left.

 

[vegassd]

I’m not as opposed to selling him as some others in this thread. In the past Spurs have done a terrible job of selling players at the right time. Especially under Pochettino when they could have got a lot of money for players like Eriksen, Dele or Dier and used that money to improve the team but he has three years left on his deal and I don’t think we need to sell him yet. Not unless the offer is over £100 million.

How do you when the right time is though? It's very easy to judge Eriksen, Dele and Dier with hindsight, but had we sold them at their peaks then surely it's just another cycle of team building and not finding consistency.

I think there's this dream scenario where we sell a superstar player and use the money to buy two players, who both then become superstars and we sell them to buy four players etc. But that only happens in video games (in my opinion).

Like you say, if somebody makes a bonkers offer then it needs to be considered. And if the player indicates they want to leave then fair enough. But my cynical side says the fantasy squad building stuff needs to be left in the realm of fantasy.

 

[13VanDerBale13]

Defence was a massive problem this season.

People question whether we sell our best defender.

Ludicrous ain’t it & we wonder why we never progress as a club

 

[mil1lion]

How do you when the right time is though? It's very easy to judge Eriksen, Dele and Dier with hindsight, but had we sold them at their peaks then surely it's just another cycle of team building and not finding consistency.

I think there's this dream scenario where we sell a superstar player and use the money to buy two players, who both then become superstars and we sell them to buy four players etc. But that only happens in video games (in my opinion).

Like you say, if somebody makes a bonkers offer then it needs to be considered. And if the player indicates they want to leave then fair enough. But my cynical side says the fantasy squad building stuff needs to be left in the realm of fantasy.

To add to this we've never had a sustained period of building youth. The manager changes aside it's the recruitment side that impacts the secession of the club. Romero for example is now under his 3rd manager since he arrived and yet he's still top class. That's all down to quality recruitment picking up top quality players who will fit when we change managers. That's really what it comes down too is the quality of players we sign over consecutive years. It's a long term plan but should lead to far better chance of producing quality. Sign a young prospect in a position and they might become a top player but sign several and we have far better chance of that. If it doesn't work out with Romero or he leaves one of Dragusin, Phillips or Dorrington maybe step up or we use our scouting network to already have a profile for a suitable replacement. We should always be on the look out for the next Romero etc.

 

[McFlash]

This is it. If we sell him we’re weakening the team. It’s that simple.

Exactly.
We can't accuse the club of lacking ambition, while considering selling probably our best player.

 

[TPdYID]

Exactly.
We can't accuse the club of lacking ambition, while considering selling probably our best player.

It's so odd. We have a pocket of fans on here who seem more interested in receiving record fee's for our players, only to then complain that the club show a "lack of ambition" when we do inevitably sell.

We're a football club. To operate at optimal level, we need the best players and the best coaches. Let's bury this notion of selling off our best players for a 'profit' or a 'record fee'.

The product is the team (and performance) on the pitch and not numbers on a spreadsheet. Who cares about a record fee for a defender if it means you're selling your best player and vice cpt. Ultimately weakening the product that we all claim is front and centre.

 

[vegassd]

To add to this we've never had a sustained period of building youth. The manager changes aside it's the recruitment side that impacts the secession of the club. Romero for example is now under his 3rd manager since he arrived and yet he's still top class. That's all down to quality recruitment picking up top quality players who will fit when we change managers. That's really what it comes down too is the quality of players we sign over consecutive years. It's a long term plan but should lead to far better chance of producing quality. Sign a young prospect in a position and they might become a top player but sign several and we have far better chance of that. If it doesn't work out with Romero or he leaves one of Dragusin, Phillips or Dorrington maybe step up or we use our scouting network to already have a profile for a suitable replacement. We should always be on the look out for the next Romero etc.

Yep, I agree. I think it's better to have continual small improvements to the overall machine, rather than seeing big lurches of outgoings to fund incomings. Very easy in theory of course!

I can't recall Arsenal selling a player at their peak during their recent squad building. I guess the stand out example for them would be Sanchez going to United, but that must be a few years back. The one that stands out for United would be Lukaku, but I'm not sure how "peak" he really was. Coutinho is the classic example of it working, but Outside of the City/Chelsea anomaly, I don't think that selling peak players is a real world path to success.

So if we can keep away from a feast and famine approach, it's got to be a good thing long-term. It's crazy to think that our crazy Ndombele window is only now being put firmly in the past!

 

[rawhide]

Exactly.
We can't accuse the club of lacking ambition, while considering selling probably our best player.

We aren’t though, are we. There’s no ITK suggesting we’re considering it. It’s just a click bait article saying “top team interested in buying top player”. It’s a non story and is only being prevented from dying a death by the constant speculation and discussion of what to do and who might replace Cuti by members in this thread.