Romero pushes for transfer amid Tottenham's turmoil and worst slump

It is truly a mess. Christian Romero's actions, who had a significant role in the Tottenham defense, are becoming increasingly extreme.

Tottenham lost 0-1 to Chelsea in the 30th round of the 2024-2025 Premier League (PL) away match held at Stamford Bridge in London, England, on the 4th (Korean time). Struggling with consecutive losses, Tottenham remains in 14th place in the league with 34 points (10 wins, 4 draws, 16 losses). They have not won in eight consecutive away matches against Chelsea.

Tottenham's last victory at Stamford Bridge was in April 2018. Since then, they have achieved only 2 draws and 6 losses. Furthermore, they suffered the humiliation of recording 16 losses in 30 matches for the first time since 1977. Particularly, head coach Ange Postecoglou has recorded four consecutive losses against Chelsea since joining Tottenham.

Head coach Postecoglou has failed to earn even one point against Chelsea. He is the first coach in Tottenham's history to lose all four league matches against Chelsea. In contrast, Chelsea demonstrated their superiority against Tottenham with four consecutive league victories, accumulating 52 points (15 wins, 7 draws, 8 losses) to rise to 4th place, surpassing Manchester City (52 points).

As expected in a fierce 'London derby,' there were tussles between the players from both teams during the match. At the end of the first half, Chelsea's Levi Colwill committed a foul against Tottenham's Mickey van de Ven. Colwill, however, protested to the referee and hid the ball behind him, refusing to pass it to the Tottenham players.

Then, Tottenham's vice-captain Christian Romero attempted to snatch the ball and knocked Colwill down. Upon seeing this, Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah rushed in, escalating into a tussle. The clash between the two teams subsided moments later, and the referee issued yellow cards to Romero and Chalobah.

This was not the end. Just when it seemed the incident was over, Rodrigo Bentancur suddenly grabbed Chalobah's jersey, leading to an emotional exchange of words again. Captain Son Heung-min urgently pulled Bentancur back, telling him to stop, but it was in vain. Bentancur and Chalobah continued to argue while gradually moving apart.

Football London reported, "A large-scale tussle broke out just before the end of the first half. The incident began with a clash between Colwill and van de Ven. Colwill collided with van de Ven while trying to stop a counterattack from the opponent, causing Tottenham to miss a quick opportunity for a counterattack just before the end of the first half," adding, "After that, Bentancur grabbed Chalobah's shirt, resulting in a second exchange of words, with both players shouting abrasive remarks from a distance."

From Tottenham's perspective, there was absolutely no reason to fight. Captain Son Heung-min tried to restrain Bentancur and other players, but the fight itself is the problem. Naturally, this puts Tottenham in a situation where the probability of facing additional penalties has significantly increased.

Ultimately, both Tottenham and Chelsea are likely to face FA sanctions. Keith Hackett, former chairman of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), claimed through Tottenham News, "Both clubs will be charged by the FA for failing to control their players."

Tottenham News reported, "Tottenham has lost 16 out of 30 league matches this season. This is a terrible record, better only than the bottom four teams. Moreover, there is a high possibility of receiving fines due to this incident. Bad news continues to pile up for chairman Daniel Levy and Postecoglou, who hope for the season to end soon."

The fact that emotions were so uncontrollable even with the captain trying to intervene shows how much Tottenham is a team in turmoil. Notably, both Romero and Bentancur are receiving love calls from other teams, which adds significance.

As expected, rumors about Romero's transfer have reignited. Ruben Uriah, a reliable journalist covering Atletico Madrid, confirmed that Atletico is indeed interested in Romero. The possibility increases as Atletico's coach, Diego Simeone, is Argentine.

Uriah stated, "There have already been very interesting discussions between Atletico and Romero's side. They will likely officially move in the summer transfer market," adding, "Romero himself will pressure Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to leave in the summer transfer market."

[OSEN]