Inter Milan want Cristian Romero, and their own sporting director just said it out loud. What remains to be settled, however, is how Inter actually pay for him, because every account of this deal comes back to the same word – complicated.
Piero Ausilio didn’t beat around the bush when asked. Inter’s sporting director gave the kind of answer that sounds cautious but reads like a confirmation: “It’s definitely a deal we are trying to sign with the player and the club [Tottenham]. These things take some time, but there is definitely interest. We’ll see.” * Ausilio also disclosed Inter had already held discussions with Romero’s agent and had engaged in direct talks with Tottenham. Scouting that is not. It’s a negotiation, even if no one is ready to call it that yet.
Here’s why Romero, specifically. He is 28 years old; he is the captain of Tottenham and has made 124 appearances in five seasons in North London, scoring 12 goals in that time. Along the way he’s also collected four Premier League red cards, which tells you enough about how he defends: physical, sometimes over the line, never passive. Inter are in the market for a centre-back this summer, and Romero is among a list of names – also including John Stones, who is a free agent after leaving Manchester City. Romero is under contract until 2029 at Tottenham, so there’s no expiring deal that’s forcing anyone’s hand to make a decision quickly. Reports also suggest Tottenham will allow him to leave this summer should the right offer come along.
That’s the confirmed part. The rest is noise added on top, some of it more credible than others.
Inter’s Financial Troubles
Multiple reports have talked about Inter working on a structure based on a loan with a mandatory obligation to buy, rather than a straight fee, with the full package said to come in somewhere around 40 million euros. Some reports had Tottenham’s initial valuation around the 50 to 60 million euro mark, with Inter pushing for the combined loan fee and obligation to be pushed down toward the 40 to 50 million mark. Neither club has officially released any of those figures, and they vary depending on which outlet is counting. Read them as the form of a negotiation rather than the content.
That structure is also why “financially complex” keeps popping up in every report on this deal. Inter are the Italian champions, but it’s not unusual for a club to build a deal around a loan first and an obligation later, often signifying a club managing its cash flow rather than writing a cheque outright. That gives you some time. It also gives both sides an out if the fine print doesn’t match up.
Fabrizio Romano and More Are Reporting
The transfer reporting has far exceeded what the clubs have validated. The link between Romero and Tottenham is dead, according to Fabrizio Romano and other journalists, with Romero wanting to leave this summer and Barcelona named alongside Inter as suitors. Other reports say Inter have kept in contact with Romero’s camp and suggest the player is open to a return to Serie A, with Inter the favourites to land the player. Romero and Tottenham have none of that on the books. That’s an important distinction.
Insider reporting can be correct months before a club says a word, or it can be agents putting discreet pressure on through friendly journalists. Both happen all the time in this market and from the outside there is no way to tell which one this is. Some English media report that Arsenal and Chelsea are keeping an eye on the situation should Tottenham decide to sell, but neither have been reported to have made a bid.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Transfer Window
Romero is not alone in his situation. Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been candid about the state of his squad, saying the transfer window is ‘not finished yet’ and he expects more business as the club looks to lay a foundation ‘to become great again’. Spurs have already signed Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul Van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes this window. This is not a team sitting around while one story unfolds.
All of it has threads of injury news running through it, too. Guglielmo Vicario has suffered a minor injury and will remain in London rather than join the pre-season tour, and Juventus are said to be looking at him again as a back-up to Emi Martinez. Mohamed Kudus is “very close” to returning from his own injury, while Dejan Kulusevski’s situation is being monitored after a long spell out, De Zerbi said. De Zerbi was equally blunt about Lucas Bergvall: If Bergvall wants to leave, then Tottenham need to come up with another solution, because De Zerbi only wants players who are happy to be there.
That line about happy players does more work than it looks like on the page. A coach who says he only wants players who want to be there is also a coach preparing everyone for the fact that someone won’t be there.
But Romero is not Inter’s only target this summer. They are also looking at a full-back, and Tottenham’s Djed Spence was discussed in that conversation, but that interest is said to have cooled recently. The other names in that search are Monaco’s Vanderson and Feyenoord’s Givairo Read. Inter have a vision for this summer, and it’s not just about a big signing; it’s about a rebuilding process in many roles.
Romero: The Bottom Line
Let’s cut to the chase, and here is what is really real. Inter want Romero; Ausilio has confirmed it himself, talks with Tottenham and Romero’s agent have already taken place, and Tottenham would sell for the right price. What the exact fee is, what the final structure is, what role Barcelona will play, whether Romero has already checked out mentally. That is all reporting layered on top of a deal that has not yet closed.
There is one simple reason why deals like these drag. Somebody’s going to have to blink first on price, and right now nobody’s going to.
