Tottenham Hotspur’s signings have grabbed all the headlines recently, but between now and the end of the summer, a handful of key players could depart.
Luka Vuskovic’s surprise sale has been the most notable outgoing, but that could change soon.
Club captain Cristian Romero has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan, while Guglielmo Vicario also has admirers in Italy.
And now, Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that both Vicario and Romero have indicated to him that they want to move on from the club.
De Zerbi confirms Romero and Vicario will leave
Both players missed the business end of last season but were seen supporting the rest of the Tottenham players from the sidelines.
De Zerbi says he wants to respect his players’ wishes, adding that he doesn’t want to keep the ones who don’t want to be at Tottenham.
“At the beginning of my time, in April, I had, I don’t know, one million individual meetings!” he said via Football London.
“And [the players] told me what their idea was. I said: ‘Yes, help me to stay up, and then I help you to leave’. If you don’t help me to stay up, you stay underwater with me!
“But Romero with me was unbelievable. Top. In his behaviour, his respect, he suffered when he did not play the last game. It is not true that he wanted to leave for Argentina to prepare for their World Cup. It’s not true.
The Italian has also confirmed that both Romero and Vicario have asked to leave, although neither is close to finding a new club currently.
“After the semi-final [against England] we text a message, but I never called him to convince him to stay. I respected what he told me. Like for Vicario, like for every player.”
De Zerbi added: “Romero as a player is one of the best centre-backs in the world, but at the end I said I want to respect the will of the players.”
The likes of Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi can fill Romero’s void in the squad, with James Maddison or Micky van de Ven expected to take over as club captain.
As for Vicario, Antonin Kinsky will take his place, with Martin Dubravka set to deputise for him.
