Cristian Romero has re-emerged on Atletico Madrid’s radar following the Tottenham captain’s outburst on Instagram this week, reports The Sun.

Atletico had hoped to sign the Argentina international last summer, but were ultimately disappointed in their efforts to land the centre-back after he penned a new deal in north London.

Romero's dig at the Spurs board

Shortly after the January transfer window closed, Romero put a post on his Instagram account that aimed a thinly veiled dig at the board, deeming the lack of players available to head coach Thomas Frank as “disgraceful”.

It’s the second time in a month that Romero has called out the Tottenham decision makers, having hit out at “other people” for not speaking publicly, and when they do, they “tell a few lies” in the wake of the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth.

The section about lies was later edited out, but not before the post had been widely shared across social media.

Spurs endured sub-par January window

Spurs were expected to be active in the January market as they sought to back under-fire head coach Thomas Frank and brought in Conor Gallagher and Souza from Atletico Madrid and Santos, respectively.

However, the club failed to adequately replace Brennan Johnson, who was sold to Crystal Palace in early January.

Additionally, Frank is dealing with a mounting injury crisis, with Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski long-term absentees on a mounting injury list.

Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven, Djed Spence and Pedro Porro have also endured spells on the sidelines in recent weeks.

And Romero is again being linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Atletico looking to reignite their interest in the Spurs skipper.

Romero was 'close' to Atletico switch

Compatriot and Atletico forward Julian Alvarez also spoke in December about how close Romero came to move to the Wanda Metropolitano.

“Yes, I had some conversations with him, but due to some details, it didn’t work out. Hopefully, we can play together someday,” Alvarez said.

Romero, who was forced off at the break for Spurs’ 2-2 draw with Manchester City last weekend due to illness, is expected to return to the side for Saturday’s game at Manchester United.

Spurs then follow up their trip to Old Trafford with the welcome of Newcastle next week before a weekend off owing to the FA Cup fourth round.