As Atletico Madrid emerge as the clear front-runners for Cristian Romero, it has now emerged which club the Tottenham star wanted to join this summer.
Atletico Madrid are accelerating their efforts to sign the centre-back, 12 months on from initially expressing an interest in the player.
Over the last couple of days, some sources suggested that Barcelona had reignited their interest in Romero after agreeing to sell Ronald Araujo to Liverpool.
In fact, it was suggested that the Spurs star’s representatives were keeping Barca informed, and were hopeful that the Catalan club would substantiate their interest.
Tottenham star Cristian Romero prioritised Barcelona switch
TyC Sports journalist Gastón Edul has revealed on Jijantes FC that Hansi Flick’s men did express an interest in the World Cup winner.
In fact, he claimed that Romero was ‘prioritising’ a move to Camp Nou and that his representatives were aware of the developments in Catalonia.
However, he revealed that Barca have now fallen behind in the race for the Tottenham Hotspur man, with their La Liga rivals, Atletico, poised to complete a deal.
Edul added: “Right now, Inter and Atlético are well-positioned, with Atlético having the advantage. I think he’ll go to Atlético.”
Atletico expect to complete Romero deal in days
Edul is not the only one to rule Barca out of the race, with Fabrizio Romano also stating that the Catalan club are currently not pursuing Romero.
A move to the Metropolitano Stadium to link up with his compatriot, Diego Simeone, now looks increasingly likely for the 28-year-old.
In fact, according to AS, Atletico are hopeful of completing a deal for Romero within 48 hours, with the club close to agreeing a €40m (£34m) deal.