The most recent match in which Cristian Romero made his mark was in April. In the 2-3 defeat in the North London Derby against Arsenal, Romero hit the crossbar twice in the first half. Not only that, the Argentine star had many situations that discouraged the opposing strikers even though Spurs were 3-0 down at that time.
By the summer, Romero had won his second Copa America with the Albiceleste. In that campaign, Romero started every match except the 2-0 group stage victory as Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals.
At the beginning of this season, Romero's form suddenly declined, especially noticeable in the latest loss to Brighton, before that were negative results against Leicester and Newcastle. Making positional errors, not keeping up with the opponent, and making dangerous moves right in the penalty area are 3 types of errors that Romero has made a lot in recent times.
In fact, since joining Tottenham in 2021, Romero's form has been erratic, sometimes good, sometimes bad. It was not until last season, when Ange Postecoglou gave him the vice-captaincy, that Romero matured, although he still made silly mistakes in his behavior, such as the situation of kicking Levi Colwill in the 1-4 loss to Chelsea.
The early part of last season was a great time for Romero when he paired up with Van de Ven, creating a solid central defender pair in front of the Spurs goal. The graphic below shows that Romero was a very proactive centre-back in defense, not passively waiting for the opponent to approach before making a decision. He is ranked in the Top 3 most proactive centre-backs in the Premier League.
The reason for the current decline is probably because Romero did not have the necessary rest after the 2023-2024 season due to playing Copa America. The center-back could only return to Spurs' headquarters nearly 3 weeks before the first round of the Premier League. The fatigue was also clearly felt from Romero when a few days before the draw with Leicester, the 26-year-old star posted a video on X. The content of the video was shared by Carlo Ancelotti about the current players needing more rest.
Last season, Tottenham played just 41 games in all competitions after they were eliminated in the second round of the League Cup and the fourth round of the FA Cup. This season, having to play in the Europa League will be even more taxing on Spurs. As for Romero, he is an almost irreplaceable factor in the national team's formation. This means that the 26-year-old star will not be able to rest during FIFA Days.
Realizing this problem, right from the transfer session at the beginning of the year, Postecoglou brought in Radu Draugsin to replace Romero and Van de Ven. However, Draugsin's level was not guaranteed, so since then, the £25 million contract has only played 11 matches (523 minutes) in the Premier League.
Right after the end of FIFA Days in October, Romero, if not injured, will continue to plow through the London Derby against West Ham. If Draugsin does not improve, the possibility of Romero continuing to plow through is present.
