Barcelona's hopes of landing Cristian Romero have evaporated, with the Argentina defender now heading to the capital instead — Atlético Madrid have agreed a €40 million deal with Tottenham Hotspur.

Romero was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona in the days after Ronald Araujo's loan departure to Liverpool, but the Blaugrana have been beaten to his signature. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham and Atlético Madrid have reached a full agreement on a transfer worth around €40 million for the center-back, who finally gets his desired move to Spain after five seasons in London.

Romano's report states that Barcelona studied the deal but decided against moving forward, which opened the door for Atlético to complete the signing once the sale of defender Nahuel Molina to AS Roma was finalized earlier this week.

Barcelona look elsewhere

It doesn't appear Barça ever held any real interest in Romero — or at least not enough to spend €40 million on his signature. The Catalans still haven't decided whether they'll pursue a defender in the final weeks of the January window.

If boss Hansi Flick does ask for a center-back signing, Real Betis defender Natan is understood to be the number one target for Barça as they weigh up their options before the deadline.