According to football.london journalists Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest, Tottenham are in advanced negotiations to sign Cristian Romero from Atalanta.

The Lowdown: Spurs taking their time

With Nuno Espirito Santo now in charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs should be well on their way to getting their squad ready for the new campaign.

So far, they are yet to make a single signing, and time is running out before the new term kicks off.

At last it seems Fabio Paratici and co are finally getting the house in order, with Gold and Guest sharing some promising developments this week.

The Latest: Spurs close to Romero

This report suggests Spurs are in 'advanced negotiations' for defender Romero. The Lilywhites are also said to be progressing in their pursuit of goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini.

Paratici likes to identify as many as ten targets for any one position that needs strengthening, and it appears Romero is at the front of the defender queue ahead of the likes of Lyon's Joachim Andersen and Sevilla's Jules Kounde.

The Verdict: Top talent

While it has taken a decent amount of time to get close to a new signing, we feel Romero would be more than worth the wait.

Valued at £31.5m (Transfermarkt), the 23-year-old was a stalwart with 42 appearances in all competitions for Atalanta last term (Transfermarkt), as they qualified for the Champions League.

He was so good in fact that he was even named in the Serie A Team of the Year (sportskeeda.com).

Italian football expert Conor Clancy called him a 'top, top defender' earlier this year (This Is Futbol), while admitting he is 'one of the most deceptively dirty players in the Serie A', suggesting he is the type of streetwise player who rival fans will hate and Spurs fans will adore.

Indeed, he picked up ten yellow cards while averaging two tackles per game in the league last year, so he certainly likes to get stuck in.

With five caps for Argentina, too, he has received recognition on the international stage and was a part of the squad which won this summer's Copa America. Quite frankly, he would be a top signing - it remains to be seen whether Daniel Levy and Paratici can capture their man.

In other news, Tottenham have made a bid for this Euro 2020 winner.