TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR ARE KEEN TO KEEP HOLD OF THEIR BEST PLAYERS THIS SUMMER TO AVOID DISAPPOINTING THEIR NEW MANAGER, THOMAS FRANK.
FRANK HAS MADE IT CLEAR TO THE NORTH LONDON CLUB THAT HE WANTS TO KEEP THE PLAYER WHO IS SUBJECT TO STRONG INTEREST FROM ANOTHER TEAM.
HOWEVER, LEVY IS READY TO INTERVENE IN THE SITUATION AND IS SENDING A STRONG WARNING OUT, WHICH COULD DETER THE INTERESTED CLUB FROM MAKING A MOVE.
DANIEL LEVY WANTS £70M TO SELL CRISTIAN ROMERO.
DANIEL LEVY IS EAGER TO KEEP CRISTIAN ROMERO AT TOTTENHAM AND HAS PLACED A £70M PRICE TAG ON THE DEFENDER, SOURCES HAVE TOLD TBR FOOTBALL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT GRAEME BAILEY.
THE SPURS CHAIRMAN HAS WARNED ATLETICO MADRID HE IS PREPARED TO MAKE ROMERO TOTTENHAM’S BEST-PAID PLAYER, SHOWING JUST HOW HIGHLY RATED HE IS AT THE NORTH LONDON CLUB.
LEVY HAS ACCEPTED THE FACT THAT THE 27-YEAR-OLD COULD WELL LEAVE, AS HIS HEART APPEARS TO BE SET ON A MOVE TO THE SPANISH CAPITAL.
BAILEY TOLD TBR FOOTBALL: “DANIEL LEVY, AS WE SAID THIS WEEK, IS ACCEPTING THAT ROMERO MIGHT LEAVE, BUT HE WON’T ALLOW HIM TO LEAVE FOR CHEAP. HE’S TELLING ATLETICO HE’S PREPARED TO MAKE ROMERO THE HIGHEST-PAID PLAYER AT THE FOOTBALL CLUB. THAT’S EVIDENCE OF HOW HIGHLY HE RATES HIM.”
SHOULD ROMERO PUSH TO LEAVE AND SPURS DECIDE TO SELL, THEN LEVY’S £70M ASKING PRICE IS UNLIKELY TO BE MATCHED.
A DEAL BEING DONE FOR AROUND £60M WOULD BE MORE LIKELY, AS ATLETICO ARE CURRENTLY OFFERING £55M FOR ROMERO.
“SO THAT’S WHERE LEVY IS PUSHING BACK. I THINK HE’S LOOKING FOR £70M. HE’S NOT GOING TO GET THAT. WILL HE GET £60M? I THINK THAT MIGHT BE THE KEY FIGURE. ATLETICO ARE ABOUT £55M,” ADDED BAILEY.
BUT LEVY IS EMPHASISING TO THEM JUST HOW HIGHLY HE RATES THE PLAYER. LEVY, AS WE KNOW, WILL KEEP A PLAYER IF YOU DON’T OFFER WHAT HE WANTS.
“ATLETICO THINK THEY KNOW THE VALUE OF THE DEFENDER AND DIEGO SIMEONE IS PUSHING MASSIVELY FOR HIM, THINKING WE’LL GET HIM.”
TOTTENHAM’S PLANS TO REPLACE CRISTIAN ROMERO
THE NORTH LONDON CLUB WILL PUSH TO SIGN ANOTHER TOP DEFENDER SHOULD ROMERO’S MOVE TO ATLETICO EVENTUALLY MATERIALISE.
BUT EVEN IF THEY WERE TO LOSE THE WORLD CUP WINNER, THEIR DEFENSIVE OPTIONS MEAN THEY ARE ALREADY WELL EQUIPPED FOR LIFE WITHOUT HIM.
LUKA VUSKOVIC BECAME A TOTTENHAM PLAYER ON JULY 1, TWO YEARS ON FROM THE YOUNG CROATIAN SIGNING FROM HAJDUK SPLIT FOR AROUND £12 MILLION.
MEANWHILE, KEVIN DANSO IS HIGHLY RATED BY TOTTENHAM, AND THERE’S A SENSE HE COULD BECOME A STARTER AT THE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM NEXT TERM.
BAILEY ADDED: “KEVIN DANSO, THEY LIKE HIM AN AWFUL LOT, BUT THEY WILL SIGN SOMEONE ELSE IF ROMERO GOES.
“CURRENTLY, THEY HAVE (KOTA) TAKAI, (ASHLEY) PHILLIPS, VUSKOVIC, DANSO, (MICKY) VAN DE VEN, AND (RADU) DRAGUSIN, WHO COULD LEAVE TOTTENHAM. I WOULDN’T RULE OUT DRAGUSIN GOING BACK TO ITALY AT SOME POINT.
THREE OPTIONS INCLUDE CRYSTAL PALACE DEFENDER MARC GUEHI, ALTHOUGH HE IS EXPECTED TO LEAVE NEXT SUMMER INSTEAD, OUSMANE DIOMANDE FROM SPORTING CP AND BENFICA’S ANTONIO SILVA.
“SPURS STILL LIKE GUEHI, BUT I THINK HE WILL MOVE ON A FREE NEXT SUMMER, IF I’M BEING HONEST,” BAILEY CONTINUED.
“DO WE SEE TOTTENHAM GETTING INVOLVED IN A SITUATION LIKE THE ONE FOR OUSMANE DIOMANDE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT? YES, I WOULDN’T RULE THAT OUT AT ALL. ANTONIO SILVA, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE WILL SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR THEM.”
