Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Argentina international Cristian Romero from Atalanta, the Premier League club said on Friday.
No financial details were revealed but British media reported that Tottenham would pay 42 million pounds ($58 million) for the 23-year-old, making him their second most expensive signing after Tanguy Ndombele joined for 54 million pounds in 2019.
Earlier on Friday, Atalanta activated the option to buy the centre back from Juventus, clearing the way for his move to Tottenham.
Romero joined the Serie A club on a two-year loan from Juventus last September and was named Defender of the Year as Atalanta finished third.
At Atalanta, he impressed in the heart of defence, making 42 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals.
The defender's form in Bergamo earned him a first senior Argentina cap in June 2021 and he went on to earn a place in the triumphant Copa America squad, returning from injury to start in last month's 1-0 final victory over Brazil.
Romero left Belgrano in his home country to join Genoa in July 2018 and signed for Juventus a year later, but was sent back to the Rossoblu on loan for another season.
He is new Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo's third signing following the arrivals of goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, his former Atalanta team mate, and winger Bryan Gil from Sevilla.
Tottenham, who finished seventh last season, begin their Premier League campaign at home to champions Manchester City on Aug. 15.
($1 = 0.7208 pounds)
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie and Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
