Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly reached an agreement with Atalanta BC over the transfer of Argentinian defender Cristian Romero.
The centre-back - who is technically still on loan at La Dea from parent club Juventus - is understood to be joining Nuno Espirito Santo's side for an initial fee of €50m (£42.6m) which could rise to €55m (£46.8m) with add-ons.
Romero will supposedly make the journey to North London imminently as he prepares to reunite with Pierluigi Gollini - on loan at Tottenham from Atalanta - but he has big boots to fill in defence following Toby Alderweireld's exit.
Here, Sports Mole looks at the shirt numbers available to Romero at Tottenham.
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A stalwart of the number 17 shirt since his days as a youth player with Club Atletico Belgrano, Romero has donned that jersey both at Genoa and Atalanta over the past few years, but that shirt is currently held by Moussa Sissoko at Tottenham.
However, the French midfielder's future at Spurs is far from secure, so that shirt could very well be vacated for Romero should Sissoko leave. The '17' has been donned by forgotten men such as Andros Townsend, Chris Gunter and Giovanni dos Santos at Tottenham, but the late Ray Clemence wore it for the 1983-84 season.
Romero has only sported the centre-back's famed '5' jersey once in his career - with Genoa Primevera in the 2018-19 campaign - but there is simply no chance of Spurs lynchpin Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg losing his grip on that number.
The Argentine has been in possession of the '13' during his time with the national team, and that shirt is vacant at Tottenham following Michel Vorm's exit, but it has been predominantly sported by goalkeepers such as Ian Walker and Kasey Keller.
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Alderweireld's departure from Tottenham means that the '4' is there for Romero's taking, and it would not be a surprise to see the 23-year-old rewarded with the Belgian's old number, especially with Fabio Paratici - a Serie A guru - at the heart of negotiations to bring him to North London.
There is currently no player sporting the '9' at Tottenham following Gareth Bale's return to Real Madrid, but a centre-back being handed that attacking jersey is incomprehensible, while the same goes for the vacant '11' after Erik Lamela's exit, although Bryan Gil could inherit that shirt.
The number 12, 16, 21 and 22 jerseys are all available to be claimed by Romero, who has also worn the '2' at youth level for both club and country, but Matt Doherty will not be relinquishing that jersey anytime soon.
Should Romero wish to follow in the footsteps of Spurs luminary Ledley King, he could sport the number 26 on his back - worn by the Englishman every season during his 14-year spell in North London - but the vacant '4' is surely what the South American will have in his sights.
Ben Knapton
