Dream Romero replacement: Spurs make contact to sign "phenomenal" £50m star

With how poorly this season has gone for Tottenham Hotspur, this summer is set to be a seismic one.

Regardless of whether Ange Postecoglou is still the manager, the squad needs a sizable overhaul, which means Daniel Levy and Co need to get ready to spend.

However, it’s not just incomings that could shape the squad, as reports linking Cristian Romero with an exit seem to be never-ending at present.

Fortunately, if the World Cup winner is sold, it would appear that the club have already identified someone who’d be a dream replacement.

Tottenham transfer news

Before we get to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other exciting players Spurs have been linked with in recent weeks, such as Jobe Bellingham.

The Sunderland star, and younger brother of Jude Bellingham, is supposedly available for around £20m this summer, and with former professional Adrian Clarke claiming he possesses a “Dele Alli-style” in the way he plays, he could be a perfect addition to the club’s growing crop of promising youngsters.

However, the North Londoners will also need first-team quality, which would explain the resurfacing links to the £60m Eberechi Eze.

The Crystal Palace maestro has enjoyed another strong season south of the river this year and has a tally of six goals and 11 assists in 33 games.

With that said, if the stories about Romero’s potential exit are true, who’s the signing who could come in as an ideal replacement?

Well, that would be Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, as, according to a recent report from The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the North Londoners are one of several sides keen on the Spaniard.

In fact, alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United, the Lilywhites have already made contact over the player.

However, on top of getting ahead of the pack, Levy and Co will need to stump up £50m to activate the 19-year-old’s release clause.

It would be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Huijsen’s immense ability and sky-high potential, one well worth fighting for, especially as he’d be a perfect Romero replacement.

Why Huisjen would be an ideal Romero replacement

So, the first thing to say is that, in an ideal world, Spurs would be able to keep hold of Romero and sign Huisjen as well, but if the former is to leave, there are a few reasons why the latter would be a perfect replacement.

The first is that he’s already the ideal blend of youth and experience, as at 19 years old, there is a good eight years until he hits the peak age for centre-backs, per research from The Athletic, but at the same time, he already has a decent amount of first-team experience.

For example, this season alone has seen him make 29 appearances for the Cherries, of which 24 have been starts, and in those, he’s scored twice and provided an assist.

Furthermore, the “phenomenal” Amsterdam-born monster, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has already won two senior caps for Spain and even started in the second leg of the Nations League quarter-final against the Netherlands.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, when you compare the teenager’s underlying numbers to Romero’s, he comes out on top in most metrics, including but not limited to actual and expected non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, key passes, aerial duels won, shot-creating actions, interceptions, blocks and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, while Romero remains a superb defender, Huijseni is not far off him, so even if the Argentine isn’t sold this summer, Spurs should do all they can to sign the Spanish international.