One club’s mainstay international centre-half is allegedly in talks to join Tottenham Hotspur when the January transfer window opens, with the under-pressure Ange Postecoglou set to be without star defensive duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
Ange Postecoglou confirms Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero injuries
Both Romero and van de Ven made a welcome, albeit brief, return to the starting eleven in Spurs’ 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday – but now Postecoglou’s pivotal centre-backs have returned to the sidelines with new injuries.
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Romero was hauled off against Chelsea after 15 minutes, while van de Ven was taken off closer to the full-time whistle with tightness in his hamstring. The former picked up an issue with his quadriceps, and reports in South America suggest that Romero could be out for six weeks (Gaston Edul).
Postecoglou, meanwhile, refuses to rule out the possibility that van de Ven has suffered recurrence of the hamstring problem which kept him sidelined for over a month – with the Dutchman picking up an injury on the same side (football.london).
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Tottenham’s manager has called their current injury crisis the worst he’s ever faced by a “fair stretch” in the build up to Spurs’ clash with Rangers in the Europa League, with van de Ven and Romero joining Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, Ben Davies and Mikey Moore on the treatment table.
“I never think it’s just bad luck. Some of it. I’ve never lost a goalkeeper for this period of time,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s injury problems.
“Some of the other issues that we’ve had… But some of it is recurring, particularly this year in terms of guys coming back and re-injuring. It’s something we’re looking at. We’re always trying to explore whether we can do things better. Last year was different to this year. Last year it hit us across the board. This year it’s more guys that are coming back who are affected. Knock on wood, we’ve got a core group who are playing a lot and are getting through it ok. But it is something we are trying to address.”
Postecoglou now only has one senior centre-back at his disposal in Radu Dragusin, with the January transfer window looking more and more important for Johan Lange as the technical director is tasked with reinforcing Spurs’ options.
Omar Alderete in talks to join Tottenham from Getafe in January
According to D10 in his native Paraguay, mainstay Getafe centre-back Omar Alderete is emerging as a potential solution to Tottenham’s centre-back woes.
The South American media outlet boldly claims that Alderete is in talks to join Tottenham next month, following a great year for the 27-year-old international, where he has become an undisputed starter for his club and impressed for his country.
Alderete bagged a goal against Romero’s Argentina in their 2026 World Cup qualifier, and right now, he’s Getafe’s best-performing player by average match rating per 90 according to WhoScored.
He’s also made more clearances per 90 than any other Getafe defender, averaging a solid 4.3, whilst also making more blocks on average than any of his teammates in that time.
However, he’s also managed a pass accuracy of just 68.9 per cent out from the back, so it is unclear whether he’s the style of defender to help Spurs transition from defence to attack.