Atletico Madrid remain favourites to sign Cristian Romero from Tottenham despite interest from fierce rivals Arsenal.
The Premier League champions are understood to have asked the agents of the Spurs captain what the deal would be.
Spurs are unaware of Arsenal’s interest and would be unwilling to consider selling 28-year-old Romero to their north London rivals.
As Daily Mail Sport reported last month, Atletico rekindled their interest as Inter Milan made their pitch.
Inter have agreed a £34m fee with Spurs but have not agreed on personal terms.
Atletico are working on exits before making their formal bid.
Cristian Romero is set to leave Tottenham and Arsenal asked what the deal would be
Atletico are in talks to sell left-back Matteo Ruggeri to Aston Villa in a deal worth £19.7m if the 24-year-old agrees to go and are also selling Nahuel Molina to Roma, with the combined fees to go towards a £30m bid for Romero.
The central defender is free to leave Spurs for the right price after the club bolstered their defensive ranks earlier in the transfer window.
The additions of Marcos Senesi on a free transfer and John Paul van Hecke from Brighton for £52m mean Roberto de Zerbi is well stocked.
But the idea of selling the club captain to their arch rivals Arsenal would be deemed completely unacceptable by Spurs fans and the club would not countenance it.
Arsenal will be without William Saliba, who suffered a back injury at the World Cup, for months and are considering reinforcements at the back.
But Romero appears destined for a move away from the Premier League having spent the last five years at Tottenham after joining from Atalanta.
He was at the heart of Lionel Scaloni’s defence for the Argentina side who beat England in the World Cup semi-final before suffering a 1-0 defeat by Spain in the final last month.
Romero has come close to leaving Spurs before, notably after Ange Postecoglou departed.
He suffered a knee injury during the club’s dramatic run-in at the end of last season in which they fought off relegation.
Romero left the pitch in tears during a 1-0 defeat by Sunderland but De Zerbi managed to keep Spurs up without his captain, who recovered in time to play for Argentina.
He came under fire for celebrating in the faces of opposition players during the World Cup and also snubbed Donald Trump after the final defeat, ignoring the US President after collecting his runners-up medal.
After receiving his medal around his neck from Infantino, Romero snubbed Trump by not shaking his hand, instead he walked straight past him to join his team-mates.
