Atletico Madrid are considering a summer move for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero, in what would be a blow for manager Ange Postecoglou.
The Argentina international has had an injury-hit season, making just 14 Premier League appearances, thanks largely to a hamstring problem.
However, he is fit again and has been in action with Argentina in the current international break, starting against Uruguay on Saturday.
He will be back in the Tottenham starting XI when they go to Chelsea next week, but he may not be at the club much longer.
Sky Sports report that Atletico Madrid are very interested in signing the centre-back and have a decent chance of getting the 26-year-old in the next transfer window.
The former Atalanta defender is out of contract in 2027, meaning Spurs will soon start running out of time to cash in on him, unless he signs a new deal with the club.
With the north Londoners struggling in 14th in the Premier League table, the club may well struggle to convince him to sign a new contract, unless they can fight their way back into the Champions League by winning the Europa League this season.
Romero was a substantial investment at £43m and this summer could be Tottenham’s only chance to make a profit on the tough-tackling centre-back.
The Argentine may well be tempted to make the step up to Atletico Madrid and work with his countryman Diego Simeone at a club which is regularly in the Champions League and challenges for La Liga titles.
He has already voiced his frustrations with the way Tottenham is run, pointing out that the club struggles to strengthen the squad on a regular enough basis to compete with the biggest teams in the land.
Speaking earlier this season Romero told Telemundo Deportes: ‘Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results.
‘Those are the things to imitate. You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they (the board) realise it.
‘The last few years, it’s always the same – first the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.
‘Hopefully they realise who the true responsible ones are and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.’
Postecoglou did not entirely condemn Romero for his words, but said he spoke to him about them and his defender apologised for the way he went about things.
Speaking in December, the Australian said: ‘He realises that a lot of what he said was good but some wasn’t the right way of dealing with it. The same way I wouldn’t criticise a player publicly.
‘I’ve spoken to Cristian about it and he’s apologised for it. It wasn’t the right way to do it. It shows he cares. There’s a way to do it and this wasn’t it.’