Gary Neville ‘surprised’ by Chelsea decision NOT to sign £34m star from Tottenham

Gary Neville has told Chelsea that they made a mistake by not signing Cristian Romero from Tottenham before the centre-back moved to Atletico Madrid earlier this summer.

It was no secret that the Argentine international had his heart set on a Spurs departure after the club’s dismal 2025/26 season, and Atletico ultimately agreed a deal worth £34.2million to bring him in.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have won both of their opening Premier League fixtures but conceded five goals in the process, beating Fulham 3-2 before a 4-3 win against Brighton.

The Blues may have signed Maxence Lacroix over the summer, but they still look vulnerable at the back.

Neville thinks that the ‘aggressive’ Romero would’ve been a good addition to Xabi Alonso’s side. “It might sound crazy but I actually wouldn’t mind Cristian Romero in my team,” Neville said on The Overlap. “I wouldn’t mind that.

“I’m surprised Chelsea didn’t sign him. Now Tottenham might not have wanted to sell him to Chelsea but I was surprised Chelsea didn’t sign him.

“I thought he would have been perfect for Chelsea as that aggressive centre-half in a back-three. I am surprised they didn’t sign him.’ Arsenal legend Ian Wright added: “Chelsea would have been a good club for him.”

Chelsea, Arsenal missed out on Cristian Romero

Chelsea’s main centre-back options in their three at the back system comprise of Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Josh Achaempong.

Romero, with his 123 appearances in the Premier League, would have been an experienced option for Alonso to call upon, and arguably would’ve slotted straight into Chelsea’s starting XI.

Arsenal certainly thought he would have been a valuable addition.

TEAMtalk revealed in early August that Arsenal made an enquiry over potentially signing Romero, before his switch to Atletico was completed.

The Gunners viewed Romero as someone who could fill in for the injured William Saliba, though they ultimately opted to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa instead.

It is worth noting, though, that sources told us that Tottenham had ‘no intention’ of doing a deal with Arsenal – and it’s impossible to know whether they would’ve taken that same stance with Chelsea.

Chelsea’s decision not to bring in another centre-back could be viewed as a mistake, as Neville suggests, but also their failure to sign a new midfielder to replace Enzo Fernandez is arguably an even bigger problem.

They pushed for Monaco’s Lamine Camara before that deal collapsed on deadline day, and then made a last-ditch approach for Everton’s James Garner, which also failed.

Alonso will now have to cope with the options he has in defence and midfield as he aims to bring trophies to Stamford Bridge this season.