‘Absolutely nothing’: Pundit says Spurs have overspent by £30m on 23-year-old

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Cristiano Romero has been given a scathing assessment of his latest Tottenham Hotspur performance.

The Lilywhites suffered a 3-2 defeat by Southampton in North London on Wednesday night.

Not only that, but the visitors, who fashioned 23 attempts at goal, could’ve quite easily scored more than three on another night.

Romero failed to cover himself in glory – no Tottenham player did – and Steve Nicol cannot believe how much Antonio Conte’s outfit will be spending on him.

The Argentina international originally joined Spurs on a season-long loan from Atalanta.

But the Italian manager confirmed in midweek via The Athletic that there’s an obligation to sign the 23-year-old for £50 million this summer.

However, Nicol, speaking to ESPN, has claimed that the central defender is barely even worth £20 million.

He said: “I’m reading today that’s Romero’s going to be signed for £50 million. In my eyes he’s done absolutely nothing! When you play in the middle of a back-three you’re supposed to be the general. And you’re going to turn around and spend £50 million on a guy who you wouldn’t say he was worth £20 million.”

Unfair?

In a word, absolutely.

Romero has barely kicked a ball due to injury over the past three months and what happened on Wednesday genuinely isn’t a fair reflection on his ability.

The truth is that Tottenham wouldn’t be spending such a massive figure on the young powerhouse unless there was massive confidence in his talent.

The £63 million wasted on Tanguy Ndombele is only going to make Daniel Levy much more cautious when it comes to spending major money on foreign imports.

And therefore it’s probably safe to say that Levy – with advice from Fabio Paratici, who signed Romero – is confident that the money won’t be going to waste.