'Little surprised...' - Spurs insider makes worrying transfer claim on 'popular player'

Tottenham Hotspur insider John Wenham has shared his concern surrounding the fact that Cristian Romero hasn’t yet signed a permanent contract with the club, Football Insider report.

The Argentine first arrived in the Premier League when he put pen to paper on a season-long loan with the Lilywhites from Atalanta last summer, a deal which included an option, not an obligation, to buy for a fee believed to be £42.5m.

The 24-year-old’s spell in the capital has now expired, but it looks as if he has reported for pre-season training with Antonio Conte and the rest of the squad without any official announcement from the club regarding what’s happening with his transfer situation.

Speaking to FI, Wenham admitted that he was unsure why Romero’s permanent move hadn’t yet been confirmed, saying he is a ‘little surprised’ on no updates regarding the ‘popular player’.

“I have no idea.

“We would have heard something if the deal had been completed. Think how well connected Di Marzio is with Paratici, how connected Fabrizio Romano is with Tottenham.

“We would have heard something so I am a little surprised. I don’t know but he is already back at Tottenham training and the loan will have expired on 30 June.

“When he signed it wasn’t made clear if it was a loan deal or a permanent so hopefully we will get some clarification on that shortly.

“It’s an open goal for the club to announce it as well, he is such a popular player. There could be a fair amount of fanfare.”

Romero was a revelation his first full season at Tottenham, so you’d expect that Conte will be keen to tie him down on a permanent basis. The centre-back made 22 appearances in the top-flight last term, averaging 3.3 clearances, 2.8 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per 90 minutes,