Atalanta came through and bolstered their most glaring weakness signing Juventus owned defender Cristian Romero on a two year loan with an option to buy. The option should turn into a 23-25M Euro obligation if Romero plays a certain quantity of matches over the next two seasons. In essence its a tidy piece of business that gives Gasperini even more options at centerback, plus no guarantee to sign him permanently if it is evident that Romero can’t fit into the Atalanta system.
If you can use one word to describe Romero, it is definitely aggression. Watching footing of him, it is evident that he’s not afraid to get stuck in, take chances, and sometimes pay the price for his cavalier nature. In 57 Serie A games he’s already tallied 23 yellow cards, and a straight red, quite a remarkable feat. While his aggression is certainly his calling card and potentially a detriment, he’s young and can definitely learn to grow into when best to use his aggression. However with the extreme pressing nature of Atalanta’s back three I am cautiously optimistic that Romero will be able to fit right in.
The option is still key though, considering the inability for certain centerbacks to adapt to Gasperini’s unique, heavy press back three system. Last year alone Kjaer and Ibanez were shipped off, not for lack of talent considering their success at Milan and Roma, but just for the fact that they weren’t equipped to do what was needed of them. A centerback in Atalanta is hybrid as they come, and we still have two years to see if Romero can grow into the role. Fortunately with depth in the back, there won’t be pressure on Romero to immediately perform allowing him to adapt and understand his roles and duties. However, when all this is said and done, I’m still excited and confident that Romero can be all that we want in a centerback. Pacier (than what we have), aggressive, young, and Serie A experience, Romero has the opportunity to be all that we want in the back. Bienvenidos a La Dea, Cristian!
