Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 2:46 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 14:52

For Atalanta, it is very important to get the most out of Cristian Romero’s departure. The centre-back is coveted by Manchester United, which saw a €45 million offer rejected, reports Tuttosport Tuesday. According to the Italian newspaper, Atalanta wants at least sixty million euros for the Argentine defender. Romero is rented by Atalanta for two years from Juventus, the first season of which is now over. Atalanta will early lift the option to buy sixteen million euros and then have the full transfer rights over the mandekker.

United’s offer of 45 million euros would mean a direct profit of 29 million euros, but they are not satisfied with that at Atalanta. Romero was taken over for two million euros on a rental basis from Juventus last summer, where his contract will continue until the summer of 2025. In addition, the club from Turin can look forward to another two million euros due to qualification for the Champions League. Atalanta finished last season as number three in Serie A, securing their participation in the group stage of the Champions League.

Romero was regarded as one of the strongholds at Atalanta last season and appeared in Serie A in 29 of his 31 appearances, scoring twice. In addition, he was named defender of the year in Serie A, an award that went to Stefan de Vrij last year. It is not the first time that Juventus has sold Romero on loan. Last season he was already loaned to Genoa. United, on the other hand, is looking for reinforcements at the heart of the defense and sees the Argentinian as the ideal man to build more security in the last line.

The money that Atalanta collects from the sale of Romero must be reinvested in the squad for next season. Takehiro Tomiyasu, for example, is in the explicit interest of the club of Marten de Roon, Hans Hateboer and Sam Lammers. The latter is also said to be allowed to leave, albeit temporarily. Genoa has already announced that it is interested in the services of the Dutch attacker, while clubs from the Eredivisie are also after Lammers.