Tottenham Hotspur could secure another Cristian Romero type of player before the transfer window deadline on September 1st...

What's the word?

That's according to ever-reliable The Athletic journalist Charlie Eccleshare, who claims that Spurs would love to sign a specialised left-sided centre-back to complete manager Antonio Conte's backline.

"Last season, Spurs basically had no one else who could play left centre-back. Partly as a consequence of the fact that Conte came in mid-season with a different system that necessitated that position, whereas they hadn’t really had the same need for it before," he told GIVEMESPORT.

"What Spurs would love is Romero on the right, who has been absolutely outstanding. If you could have a player of his sort of level on the left, you’re talking about really, really good defence."

Conte wants Romero 2.0

Both Conte and sporting director Fabio Paratici have overseen a busy summer of business at Hotspur Way, bringing in no fewer than six new players and a swoop for a specialised left-sided centre-back could be the icing on the cake.

It is true that they have somewhat fixed this problem, having brought in Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona but given that is a temporary deal, they'll only have this same issue next summer.

[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-transfer-news-gossip-rumours-conte-paratici-premier-league" title="Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!"]

After qualifying for the Champions League, Conte will need that depth if the Lilywhites are to remain competitive across all competitions and given Eccleshare's comments, it's clear that they would like further defenders in their ranks.

The Italian head coach missed out on his former Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni early in the window but have also been linked to the likes of Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig and Villarreal's Pau Torres - the former being a natural left-footer.

Romero is a ruthless and aggressive presence in Tottenham's defence but he can also act as a ball-playing option, having registered two clearances, one interception and an 85.1% passing accuracy on the opening day of the new Premier League season in Spurs' 4-1 win over Southampton, as per WhoScored.

Last term, the Argentina international was described as an "animal" by former teammate Pierluigi Gollini to Standard Sport. "He’s perfect for the Premier League," he added. "He’s a clever guy and an amazing player."

If the north Londoners could secure a similar presence on the other side of defence, then Conte will have a frightening unit, so it's no wonder that Paratici is on the lookout for a left-footed central defensive beast.

AND in other news, Paratici now eyeing Spurs swap deal for "ultimate" £148k-p/w dynamo, he's another Giovani Lo Celso...