Tottenham stance on Cristian Romero to Atletico Madrid transfer as Kota Takai deal confirmed

Kawasaki Frontale have confirmed Tottenham target Kota Takai is to bid farewell to the fans and begin the process of "a transfer to an overseas team" at a time when reports of an agreement for the sale of Cristian Romero are believed to be wide of the mark.

football.london understands that new head coach Thomas Frank wants to keep Romero and that claims from Argentina that Atletico and Spurs have agreed a fee for the 27-year-old are not true. Diego Simeone has made his desire to sign the World Cup winner very public but as of yet the La Liga side have not been able to agree a move for the defender, who has two years left on his contract at Tottenham.

The Premier League side are not believed to be willing to let Romero, who was named player of the tournament in the Europa League, leave for anything less than a fee worthy of one of the best defenders in the game. Lionel Messi once named the 27-year-old two-time Copa America-winning centre-back as the best in the world.

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In incoming Tottenham news, the north London club are about to tie up a £5million deal for 20-year-old Japan international defender Takai and his current employers have confirmed that a move is about to happen.

In a statement, Kawasaki Frontale said: "We would like to inform you that Kota Takai will be leaving the team at the end of the activity on Saturday, July 5 in order to complete the necessary procedures and preparations for a transfer to an overseas club. We will notify you further regarding future plans as soon as they are officially decided.

"After the match against Kashima Antlers in the 23rd round of the J1 League on Saturday, July 5, Kota Takai will be giving a speech to the supporters. In addition, Takai will not be participating in the Fan Appreciation Day on Sunday, July 6."

That would suggest that the centre-back will be joining up with Frank's pre-season sooner rather than later and in time for the tour to Hong Kong and South Korea next month.

football.london reported last week that the centre-back was set to join Tottenham. The 6ft 3ins defender has played 78 times for Kawasaki, scoring four times and laying on one assist. He has played 57 times in the J1 League and played a big role in his club winning the Japanese Super Cup last year and was named the J.League's Young Player of the Year.

He also got plenty of experience in the AFC Champions League as an integral part of the Kawasaki side that reached the final last month.

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