Atletico Madrid (ATM) of La Liga in Spain, which is anticipating a major rebuilding, is centered around Argentine national team defender Cristian Romero (27, Tottenham).

Spain's Marca reported on the 14th (Korea time) that Atletico Madrid is preparing to strengthen its defense and midfield ahead of the 2025-2026 season, and has identified Romero and Alex Baena (24, Villarreal) as key resources.

In particular, Atletico Madrid is set to invest at least 100 million euros (approximately 158.2 billion won) to acquire Romero and Baena. This essentially means that the top priority for this summer's signings has been set on Romero and Baena.

Atletico competed for titles in all competitions until March of last season. However, as the season progressed into the latter stages, the team was unable to overcome challenges and revealed its limits. This is the reason for preparing significant reinforcements this summer.

Moreover, Atletico's Director General Andrea Berta, who was leading player signings, has left for the Arsenal sporting director position. This is also the first project initiated by the newly appointed Director General Carlos Buse.

Vice-captain Romero, who supports captain Son Heung-min, has been on Atletico's radar for a long time. He is known to be the defender most desired by manager Diego Simeone. Romero himself has stated in interviews that he wishes to move to La Liga.

According to the article, Romero's current market value is estimated at 70 million euros (approximately 110.9 billion won). Since Romero wants to move to La Liga, Atletico plans to try to lower this amount.

However, Romero is still under contract with Tottenham until the summer of 2027. Additionally, with Tottenham set to play in the UEFA Europa League final on the 22nd, it is unlikely that Atletico will be able to arrange a negotiation table immediately.

Relatively, Spanish attacking midfielder Baena has a low buyout clause of 60 million euros (approximately 95.1 billion won). Atletico is looking to lower this amount through an exchange involving Rodrigo Riquelme (25) and Samuel Lino (26).

Baena, who is contracted until the summer of 2028, rejected a transfer to Saudi Arabia last winter. He has shown little interest in moving to the Premier League.

Consequently, there is a strong possibility that Baena's likely destination this summer will be Atletico. Baena recorded 6 goals and 9 assists in 29 La Liga matches this season.

If Atletico brings in Romero and Baena, they will be able to firmly establish the team's defense and midfield backbone for the next season. Romero could provide immediate reinforcement to the Atletico defense, which is expected to retain players like Jose Gimenez (30) and Robin Le Normand (29).

If Tottenham lets go of Romero, it will become crucial for them to strengthen their defense. They need a center-back who can work well with Mickey van de Ven. Though they have Ladu Draghusin and Kevin Danso, they are still not evaluated to reach Romero's level.

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