Alasdair Gold has said that Cristian Romero has shown signs of maturity this season, pointing out that the Argentinean did not retaliate even when a couple of Crystal Palace players tried to rile him up on Saturday.
While most of the attention has been on how well Micky van de Ven has done in his debut Premier League season, and rightly so, his centre-back partner is quietly having a sensational season himself.
Romero, whose displays for much of last season left a lot to be desired, has stepped up massively this campaign, having emerged as the leader of the Tottenham backline.
The 25-year-old not only delivered another solid defensive display against the Eagles but also came up with a crucial goal, heading in James Maddison’s lopping cross to put Spurs 2-1 up on 80 minutes.
Romero is not so easy to wind up anymore
Romero admitted in the Tottenham’s matchday programme (via Football.London) ahead of Saturday’s clash that he has worked on the disciplinary side of his game, and Gold believes the improvement that the centre-back has made in that regard is easy for all to see.
The journalist said on his YouTube channel: “What I think is really interesting is a sign of Romero growing and learning is, this season, you’d think, ‘Oh crazy Romero, got that red card against Chelsea’ but I think again, if we take a step back and look at it from the big picture, Romero had that.
“Other than that, he’s had four yellow cards this season. He hasn’t received a single yellow card in 2024 yet and we’re into March. The way he plays and the way we assume that he’s going to pick up bookings and things like that, he doesn’t.
“And there were a few moments yesterday when I saw – I can’t remember, it might’ve been Mateta – someone was trying to wind him up and jostling with him, giving him little elbows.
“And he just went to get the ball and play it quickly. Especially second-half, it was almost like someone had told him, every time you get the ball, get it quickly, take a quick kick, get the ball moving before they set their position.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Romero was rightly criticised by many Spurs fans for some of his stupid challenges and he now certainly deserves praise for learning to restrain himself. The centre-back appears to have eliminated the excesses from his game while managing to retain his aggression.