Atletico Madrid have agreed a £34.2m (40m euros) fee to sign Cristian Romero from Tottenham. The Argentina international is set to become Atletico's fourth signing of the summer transfer window.
Tottenham will also retain a 15 per cent sell-on clause as part of the deal for the 28-year-old centre-back. Romero, who made 156 appearances for Spurs over five seasons, captained the side last season.
Premier League champions Arsenal had reportedly shown interest in Romero, but Tottenham did not want to sell their captain to their north London rivals. Romero was scheduled to return to pre-season with Spurs in the coming week after playing for Argentina in the World Cup final this summer.
The potential transfer of Romero, along with the reported advanced talks for Djed Spence to join Inter Milan, could be a blow for Spurs fans. Atletico's head coach Diego Simeone is aiming to strengthen his squad after they finished fourth in La Liga last season.