According to Argentine media outlet TyC Sports, Inter Milan are currently leading Barcelona in the race to sign Romero and are expected to resume negotiations with the player's agent within the next few hours.
The report points out that Inter Milan's "leading advantage" largely stems from Barcelona's need to sell players before they can bring in new signings. Furthermore, it's said that Flick greatly admires Laporte – the player who partnered with Barcelona's young star Cubas to anchor Spain's defense and win the World Cup; his transfer cost is expected to be lower than Romero's.
According to Italian media outlet Calciomercato, Tottenham's asking price for Romero this summer is around €45 million to €50 million, a decrease from the €60 million rumored a few weeks ago.
Inter Milan, on the other hand, prefers a "loan with a mandatory buyout" arrangement, similar to their signing of Akanji from Manchester City last summer, but with a lower buyout fee, around 35 to 40 million euros.
It is understood that Romero's current annual after-tax salary (including bonuses) is approximately 8 million euros.
