Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has praised Cristian Romero as ‘one of the best’ centre-backs in the world, via La Nacion, sparking some Tottenham fans to react on social media.
Scaloni lauds Romero for his humility and endless desire to perform for La Albiceleste. The 23-year-old is currently with the Argentina squad for their World Cup qualifiers, and could feature against Peru.
Argentina host their South American rivals in the early hours of Friday morning. But The Telegraph report Tottenham are confident Romero will be available for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Newcastle United.
Tottenham signed Romero on loan this summer from Atalanta – who Scaloni played for at the end of his career. Spurs’ deal features a £47m option to buy the defender next summer should he impress in north London.
Scaloni full of praise for Tottenham defender Romero
Scaloni seemingly has little doubt Argentina defender Romero will impress during his time at Tottenham. The 43-year-old has been full of praise for the centre-half, and noted how his time with Atalanta helped when establishing his international credentials.
“I have an advantage because he used to play in Atalanta, where I played, and we had all the references of people from the club that I know,” Scaloni explained. “Walter [Samuel] was going to see him, he lives half an hour from Bergamo.
“He could not come earlier because the March FIFA date was suspended. If we had not had it from that moment. He is one of the best in the world in his position. Overflowing with humility, it is what we want from the 30 that we summon.
“He does not believe it, he always transmits the desire to be here, and that is seen on the field. He has to keep improving – he is very young, at some point he will have difficulties and we will have to be there to support him.”
Fans react to Argentina manager’s comments
Nuno has been careful not to rush Romero into the Tottenham backline, despite Argentina boss Scaloni being full of praise. The seven-cap enforcer has only started two of his three Premier League appearances from six possible fixtures so far.
But Romero has featured more often in cup competitions, with starts in all three available Europa Conference League ties. He also started September’s Carabao Cup third-round win at Wolves. However, Nuno’s decision to bench Romero for the north London derby against Arsenal continues to irk some Tottenham supporters.
That’s because many reacted to Argentina boss Scaloni’s praise for Romero by reflecting on Nuno benching the defender for one of Tottenham’s biggest games of the season so far. He also chose to drop the centre-back, despite him starting against Chelsea the week before.
So, here are some of the responses Tottenham fans shared to Scaloni’s praise for Romero…
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