Cristian Romero’s name in the transfer circles has raised eyebrows at Man Utd, but he’d be more than just a defensive signing this summer.
The priority for Man Utd going into this transfer window was clear: strengthen the central midfield, and then beef up the edges of the squad.
Cristian Romero interrupts that plan, since he’d be a no-brainer starting CB if he were to arrive at Old Trafford.
United preparing an offer for Romero is interesting because he’s more than just a defensive signing. He brings a skill that United will have lost all hope of replacing this summer.
Paul Scholes would ‘love’ Cristian Romero at Manchester United…
What do you make of this?!
Cristian Romero is a “Centre-Back Casemiro”
Casemiro got a king’s farewell at Old Trafford after staging a remarkable renaissance in the last 18 months during his time at the club.
However, it is forgotten that, by the end, Casemiro was more than just a defensive midfielder.
He was basically as close to a guarantee of headed goals as it got for Man Utd, powering Bruno Fernandes’ assist record by a large degree.
His defensive efforts remained suspect, but his goals made up for it, and seeing that level of goalscoring from a defensive player was priceless.
With Casemiro’s departure, United knew they could get midfielders to strengthen the centre, but nobody would be able to match his scoring nous.
Until Romero appeared on the scene.
Despite appearing in just 23 league games last season, Romero scored four headed goals and got six in all competitions.
The Argentine is a huge threat on set-pieces and comes alive to sniff chances in the box, which is a priceless trait in a player signed for his defence.
He managed all that in a struggling Tottenham side devoid of confidence, so it is salivating to think what he could do in a confident Man Utd squad, with Bruno Fernandes delivering the ball.
Replacing Casemiro’s goals was a lost hope, but signing Romero is as close as United can possibly get to doing it.
Romero is an opportunity, not a necessity
Having said all of the above, United still must not lose sight of the fact that Romero should be looked at as an opportunity, not a necessity.
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United have bigger priorities than signing a first-team-ready CB, so this is a deal that should only be done on United’s terms, or they can walk away.
They will approach Spurs from a position of strength rather than desperation, while Spurs are in a tricky position because, ideally, they’d like to sell him and get good money.
Spanish clubs won’t unload their wallets, so United can offer only a marginally higher fee than their rivals and walk away with a potential bargain.
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