Tottenham have several needs across their squad to address in the summer 2025 transfer market, but a new one that could be caused by a sale is at center back. Cristian Romero has been openly flirting with a move to LaLiga, and there is already chance that he has agreed to join Atletico Madrid when the summer window officially opens.
Although plenty can change between now and then with a difference in transfer valuations between Tottenham and Atleti, as well as a Europa League Final on Wednesday, it's seemed increasingly like Romero's future lies outside of North London.
Tottenham have been watching Crystal Palace star center back Marc Guehi as a signing for quite some time. Crystal Palace even rejected a whopping 70 million pound bid from Tottenham last summer, which paid off as Guehi and the Eagles hoisted the FA Cup on Saturday.
Marc Guehi is the Cristian Romero replacement Tottenham need
Guehi, though, will be a free agent after the upcoming 2025/26 season, so Palace risk losing the starting England center back for nothing to Spurs or another Premier League club. Tottenham rivals Chelsea used to have Guehi on their books before he broke out as one of the league's best for Palace, and they are still interested in the central defender.
To that end, transfer insider Ben Jacobs discussed Guehi's situation on the London is Blue - Chelsea FC Podcast. Per Jacobs, because the Eagles don't want to risk losing Guehi for free in 2026, they could be open to accepting a transfer offer of around 50-55 million pounds for the 24-year-old star.
Despite all his experience in the Premier League, Guehi is still only 24 and one of the best in the business. Tottenham absolutely have to pursue him, and although 50 million pounds is still expensive for a player in the final year of his contract, it is significantly less than what Spurs were willing to pay last summer - and they'd still sign him to the same new contract anyway.
For Tottenham, Guehi is a no-brainer. For around the same money as what they would sell Romero for, Tottenham could get a better, young center back who makes fewer mistakes, defends one-on-ones better, marks better, and shows better leadership traits.
Tottenham can't sit there and hang onto this dream of signing him for free, because it will be even harder to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle as a free agent than if they can make the right offer at the right time to Palace this summer. Palace aren't going to let him go for free, so Spurs need to take their window to replace - and, really, upgrade - Romero with Guehi this summer.