Tottenham star 'open' to transfer exit after 'embarrassing' 5/10 Nottingham Forest performance

Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero is sure to have ruffled some feathers in North London as new quotes emerge of the centre-back admitting he is ‘open’ to a transfer away from the club this summer.

The 26-year-old has been linked with a move to Real Madrid in recent months and Romero outright named La Liga as a potential preferred next destination in his career. The World Cup winner is under contract at Tottenham Hotspur until 2027, having signed a five year deal in 2022.

The Argentina international arrived at Spurs from Atalanta for around £42 million. Romero has gone on to make 121 appearances for the London outfit and has been a regular this season when not battling a hamstring injury.

Cristian Romero puts in 5/10 showing v Nottingham Forest

Romero played 45 minutes against Nottingham Forest on Monday night, coming off at half-time alongside Micky Van de Ven in a planned substitution from Ange Postecoglou ahead of facing Liverpool this weekend and the Europa League semi-final next week. Speaking about the sub, Postecoglou said: “I thought they needed to play some minutes because it becomes 10 days leading into Liverpool (on Sunday).

“With both of them, we’ve got them in a really good place physically now and I just want to keep them ticking over. I felt that there was no need to play more than 45 minutes today and we needed to get a couple of others game time.”

The centre-back was part of a dismal first half from Spurs, and endured an embarrassing moment alongside Van de Ven as Chris Wood ghosted in unmarked to score the second Forest goal.

LondonWorld rated the defender a 5/10 for his efforts and said: “Chris Wood made both the World Cup winner and Van de Ven look a league below as he nipped in easily to nod home a Nottingham Forest second. Did make one good tackle before being hooked at half time.”

Tottenham star ‘open to anything’ amid transfer talk

In the hours after the match, a quote shared with Argentine journalist Gastón Edul on his TV show 'Los Edu' started to circulate. Romero said: “I’d love to play La Liga. I’d love to, honestly. It depends on a lot of things. We’ll see after the [English] championship is over. The truth is, I haven’t spoken to my agent yet, but I’m open to anything. My goal is always to grow and go to new places to continue developing.

“Above all else, I try to take one day at a time. There are two months left until the end of the season and I’m always thinking about performing at my best. We’re in the Europa League semi-finals. It’s an important step for the club which hasn’t reached this stage for so many years. I’d like to win it.”

While the commitment to Europa League success is some good news for Tottenham Hotspur, Romero teasing a potential departure is less impressive at such a crunch time in the season. It’s not just Real Madrid linked with interest in the centre-back, with Atletico Madrid also believed to be monitoring a deal.

Providing an update on the transfer saga earlier this month, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano told GiveMeSport: "It’s a possibility but not something guaranteed as it depends on Daniel Levy, and we know how strong Spurs are in negotiations. So it’s something possible, definitely; but it has to be an important financial package or Levy won’t accept anything."

In other news, Tottenham star who laughed at his Nottingham Forest error must be axed - opinion.