Cristian Romero's loan move to Tottenham Hotspur from Atalanta will be made permanent soon once a certain date is reached to signal the end of his loan.
The 24-year-old centre-back has been a major success at Spurs in his first season at the club, playing 30 games for Tottenham and quickly proving himself to be one of the best young defenders in the Premier League. The Argentina international has carried on where he left off in pre-season and is set to be a major building block of Antonio Conte's back three for the season ahead.
Romero, who switched to his favoured number 17 shirt this summer after wearing the number four last season, signed from Italian side Atalanta last summer, having been named the Serie A defender of the Year. There was some confusion when the Argentinean first joined as Spurs announced the deal as a straight transfer and Atalanta as a season-long loan.
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The deal, described as a complicated one, was initially a season-long loan with an option - not obligation - to buy for £42.5million, however it contained certain objectives that were expected to be easily met for the deal to become permanent this summer, making it an obligation to buy in all but name.
All parties expected the deal to go through this summer which is why a five-year contract was agreed at that time between Romero and the north London outfit for after the loan ended.
Conte indicated in February that the deal was to become permanent, saying: "I think the club bought him. I think so. He's on loan but we have an obligation to buy. We bought him!"
Some fans have been left wondering whether that permanent switch has happened yet and if so why it has not been announced, particularly with Romero's public shirt change indicating that he is here for the long term.
football.london understands that Romero's loan will turn into a permanent move on a specific date - which has yet to be reached - and when it does there will be a full announcement from the club.
Conte told football.london back then that Romero was "an important player for me and the team", before adding: "He’s strong physically, he has the timing to anticipate, good personality to play with the ball. Despite being a young player he has good experience, he’s strong and I like him. For sure, he has a lot of space for improvement."
When asked whether the Argentine was made for a physical competition like the Premier League, the Italian nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. He is perfect for this league, but if you can play in this league you can play in all the leagues in the world," he said.
"The problem is when you stay in another league, you have to ask if you can play in the Premier League. When you play here, you can play in any league in the world, because the intensity, the quality, the physicality that you have here is not present in other leagues. For sure Romero is able to play in this league. This league is a perfect suit for him."
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