Manchester United have been urged to sign Cristian Romero ‘in a heartbeat’ this summer.
The Tottenham Hotspur captain is expected to leave the club before the end of the transfer window.
talkSPORT understands Inter Milan have already entered talks with Spurs over a potential move for the Argentina defender.
His preferred destination is believed to be LaLiga with Barcelona keen on him. The Spanish champions are yet to make an approach for him, though.
Romero to United?
However, talkSPORT’s Micky Gray believes United should look to bring Romero to Old Trafford if Michael Carrick wants to bolster his centre-back options.
Asked if a Premier League club could take a chance on Romero, Gray admitted on talkSPORT: “I would take him to Man United in a heartbeat.”
Explaining his stance, he continued: “Just because Romero had a fall-out at Tottenham and he wasn’t happy.
“I think he even kicked up a fuss about certain signings or non-signings coming to Tottenham, didn’t he? I think that’s one thing that frustrated him.
“But the chance to put (Lisandro) Martinez and Romero back together as a pairing, whether you love or hate them, you know what you’re getting from them.
“And I think with Michael and his coaching staff, I wouldn’t say nurture is the right word, don’t do that with a player like Romero.
“But I think if you can just calm him down a little bit, there’s no doubt he’s got quality. He’s a great centre-half.
“Whether Man United look in that position or not, I don’t know, because obviously they’ve got (Ayden) Heaven, they’ve got (Leny) Yoro, they’ve got younger centre-halves who are coming through.”
4
Romero has appeared alongside United’s Lisandro Martinez 24 times for Argentina.
Those outings include seven matches at this summer’s World Cup as their side reached the final in North America.
Fans could raise concerns over Romero’s disciplinary record, though, having amassed nine yellow cards and two red cards in the Premier League last season.
As a result, he made just 23 league appearances, missing six matches across three separate suspensions.
United are not currently short of centre-back options, with Martinez joined by the likes of Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Ayden Heaven, Harry Maguire and Tyler Fredricson.
Full-backs Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui have also featured in the role previously along with midfielder Toby Collyer.
4
‘Signing of the summer’
It has already been a busy summer for Carrick with three new signings through the door.
Of those, Gray has hailed Youri Tielemans as the ‘signing of the summer’ following his arrival from Aston Villa.
The midfielder joined the Red Devils in a £35million deal after captaining Belgium on their run to the World Cup quarter-finals.
Gray explained: “I think Youri Tielemans is the signing of the summer.
“For the price that they got him for and the experience that he brings.
4
“I’m not saying he’s the exact replacement for what Casemiro brought to Man United. The last six months of his United career, he was absolutely brilliant, the importance of some of the goals were key.
“I think Tielemans will bring that and help. You talk about the experience of walking into a dressing room, he’s got that in abundance.
“I think he’ll help players like Kobbie Mainoo. He certainly improves Man United, I think he does.”
Tielemans scored in last season’s Europa League final to help Villa end their 30-year wait for a major trophy.
The 29-year-old has already made 244 Premier League appearances, having also featured for Leicester City before moving to Villa Park.
Meanwhile, he has previously played in the Champions League for Villa, Monaco and Anderlecht.
