Man Utd 'prepare offer' for Cristian Romero as Tottenham make decision on selling him

Manchester United are preparing an offer for Cristian Romero, according to reports – and Spurs feel 'the time has come' for the defender to move on as they target a replacement who would 'tick a lot of boxes'.

Romero, who has been strongly linked with a move away from the North London club in recent months, looks set to leave amid interest from elsewhere.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are long-term admirers of the 28-year-old centre-back, who made 32 appearances in all competitions last season, while Manchester United are also said to be keen on a potential deal.

In fact, reliable Argentine journalist Gastón Edul has claimed United want to buy Romero and are preparing an offer.

So, how much would United pay for the defender? Earlier this year, Romero's father confirmed that his son has a "very high release clause" in his current contract at Tottenham.

"He has two more years on his contract with Tottenham and a very high release clause," Victor Romero said. "The English club isn't going to let him go for free; it's between $50-70m [£37.8m-£53m]."

He added: "For me, they'll want to recover what they invested."

Man Utd are reportedly preparing an offer for Cristian Romero. Image: Getty

Tottenham feel 'time has come' for Cristian Romero to leave

It looks like Romero's time at Spurs is coming to an end. Speaking to Football Insider, former Tottenham scout Mick Brown believes the Argentine is expected to move on this summer.

"There are doubts about Romero, they expect him to move on," Brown said.

"Everybody always says what a good player he is when he's available, but it's his attitude and application which have always been the big problem with him.

"Van Hecke is somebody they’ve admired for a while, and I’ve always liked the look of him at Brighton, I think he’s really stepped up in recent years.

"Tottenham feel the time has come for Romero to move on, but of course he will need replacing because he's still been a regular player for them.

"Van Hecke would tick a lot of boxes in that regard, he could come into the side to replace him with his height and physicality, and he's not bad with the ball at his feet.

"There are a lot of positives to the idea that he could replace Romero, and it will be a step in the right direction for De Zerbi getting his ideas across as well."

Tottenham have identified Romero replacement but two bids rejected

Brighton CEO Paul Barber recently confirmed they turned down a second bid from Tottenham for centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, who is believed to be keen on making the move.

"There's always going to be a lot of interest in our best players, and certainly in the case of Jan Paul," Barber told talkSPORT.

"We've been very clear that that interest has been ongoing for a while, it's coming from multiple sources. Yes, we have rejected a bid from Tottenham over the last week or so, in fact, two bids.

"From that point of view, it has to be right for us as well as the player. We have to be in a position to make the best trades to suit our model and also to make sure that we're supporting Fabian [Hurzeler], because he's got another big season ahead of him."

The 26-year-old could join Marco Senesi, who is expected to join Spurs on a free this summer.