Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has taken a blunt method of coaching Cristian Romero to get the best out of the defender.
This is according to Alasdair Gold who was speaking on his latest YouTube video about the Argentine centre-back’s display on the weekend.
Is Romero Fabio Paratici's best buy?
Yes
No
Romero impressed massively against West Ham United as he got the better of Michail Antonio and was able to go 90 minutes without picking up a potentially costly yellow card.
Romero has played a huge role in the Italian’s starting XI since returning from his long-term injury but he has lacked discipline having picked up eight yellow cards in just 16 Premier League appearances (via Transfermarkt).
Following the 2-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion, Conte spoke about the centre-back and how he needs to help him in good and bad ways.
And Gold highlighted Conte’s comments on how he is seeking to continue the 23-year-old development after what has been an encouraging start to life in England:
(37:00) “And he said, he kind of went through all this stuff about how Romero – was quite critical in a way like constructive criticism – he was saying that you know, he needs to focus more. He needs to play the whole 95 minutes. He needs to not pick up the yellow cards, unnecessarily ones he’s picking up.
“And then he kind of circled back around and actually answered the question about the good and bad ways. He said sometimes I just have to shout at him, I just have to shout. He knows I’m doing it for the best, for him. But ultimately, I just have to shout him to get the point through.”
TIF Thoughts on Gold’s comments…
Romero arrived in north London with a big reputation having just won the Copa America and being named the Serie A Defender of the Season.
However, he also arrived at Hotspur Way with a pretty poor discipline record in which he has clearly not been able to shake off during his time in the Premier League.
And this comes down to his style of play as a defender who likes to get to the ball before the attacker, however, it could prove costly for Spurs with Romero on the brink of a two-game suspension.
But when it comes to the Argentine, this is one of the very few negatives and we think Spurs have found themselves a gem who could flourish under Conte’s guidance.
In other news: Shocking: Tottenham should’ve been playing against 10 men as West Ham footage emerges – opinion