Atalanta exercise Romero option ahead of defender’s Tottenham transfer as Demiral joins on loan from Juventus

Atalanta have activated their option to buy Cristian Romero from Juventus to clear the defender to join Tottenham, while Merih Demiral has joined the Bergamo side on loan.

Atalanta signed the centre-back on loan last season from the Bianconeri, adding an option to sign him on a permanent basis to the deal.

The Argentine’s impressive displays in Serie A caught the attention of Spurs, who are reported to have agreed to sign him in a deal worth around €50 million (£42m/$59m).

What has been said?

Before Atalanta can sell him to the Premier League side, however, they have had to pay Juve €16m (£14m/$19m) to secure the rights to the player.

A statement published by Juve has confirmed that Atalanta have “exercised the option rights for the definitive acquisition of the registration rights of the player Cristian Romero for a consideration of €16 million, to be paid in three financial years.”

What about Demiral?

Both Juventus and Atalanta have announced that centre-back Demiral will spend the next season on loan in Bergamo.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s team have an option to buy him outright at the end of the campaign.

Goal  reported this week that the purchase option will be around €30m (£25m/$35m), while Juve will receive a percentage of any future sale.

How have Romero and Demiral performed in Serie A?

Romero, 23, arrived in Serie A in 2018 when he joined Genoa from Argentine side Belgrano.

Juventus signed him the following year but loaned him back to Genoa and then to Atalanta the following season.

He made 42 appearances in all competitions for Atalanta as they finished third in Serie A and reached the Coppa Italia final, which they lost to Juventus.

Romero went on to make three appearances as Argentina won the Copa America, beating Brazil in the final.

Demiral, meanwhile, arrived in Italy in January 2019 when he joined Sassuolo and was then sold to Juve the following summer.

Injuries curtailed his playing time, as he featured just 32 times for Juve over the course of two seasons.

Further reading