Barcelona’s summer recruitment strategy continues to evolve as Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco assess where improvements are still needed before the new campaign begins.
The Catalan giants remain active in the transfer market despite already making several key additions, with strengthening the defensive unit still viewed as an important objective.
Following Spain’s World Cup triumph, attention has quickly shifted back to club football, where several high-profile players are expected to be on the move.
Barcelona have been linked with a number of centre-backs in recent months, but competition across Europe is expected to make any deal far from straightforward.
One of those transfer battles now appears to be intensifying.
According to Fabrizio Romano, via YouTube, Inter Milan have entered the race to sign Cristian Romero, with the Serie A giants now emerging as one of Barcelona’s biggest competitors for the Argentine defender.
Romero’s international commitments are now over after Argentina fell short in their bid to retain the World Cup, suffering an extra-time defeat to Spain in the final.
Despite the disappointment, the Tottenham Hotspur defender enhanced his reputation throughout the tournament with a series of commanding displays that once again highlighted his leadership and defensive quality.
Romano reports that Cristian Romero is expected to leave Tottenham this summer, with discussions between the player’s representatives and Spurs set to accelerate now that the World Cup has concluded.
The intention remains for the 27-year-old to secure a move away from North London before the transfer window closes.
Inter Milan have now positioned themselves alongside Barcelona as the two clubs showing the strongest interest in the Argentina international.
While those two sides currently appear to be leading the race, Romano also notes that additional clubs could still join the battle if Tottenham officially make Romero available.
Barcelona have admired Romero’s profile for some time as they continue searching for another elite central defender, but Inter’s involvement could make negotiations significantly more complicated.
With both European heavyweights now circling and fresh talks expected in the coming weeks, Romero’s future looks set to become one of the biggest defensive transfer stories of the summer.
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