Gary Neville believes one of Tottenham Hotspur’s summer departures would have been an ideal fit for Chelsea, despite the circumstances that eventually took him elsewhere.It was a summer of wholesale change at Tottenham Hotspur, with the club spending £394m on 10 new signings while also allowing 19 senior players to leave as Roberto De Zerbi set about building a ‘new Tottenham team’ following last season’s relegation battle.One of the biggest departures was former club captain Cristian Romero, who completed a £34m move to Atletico Madrid in mid-August. The Argentina World Cup winner had also attracted concrete interest from Inter Milan and north London rivals Arsenal, although the former could not put together the finances required, while Tottenham refused to sell to their North London rivals.Chelsea were another club looking for defensive reinforcements during the summer, and Spurs Web relayed reports earlier in the window claiming that Enzo Fernandez, who himself left Chelsea on deadline day, had reportedly asked the Blues to sign Romero. Instead, the Blues eventually brought in Maxence Lacroix, a decision that Gary Neville now believes they may have got wrong.Credit: Michael AC Braithwaite / @ac_sports_photoGary Neville believes Tottenham’s Cristian Romero would have suited ChelseaChelsea have made an encouraging start to the 2026/27 Premier League season under new manager Xabi Alonso, winning their opening two games against Fulham and Brighton.There are still some concerns at the back, though, with the Blues conceding 5 goals across those two matches, and Neville believes the ‘aggressive’ Romero would have been an excellent addition to Alonso’s side.Recalling the public spat between himself and Romero after famously branding the Argentine the ‘best worst centreback’ during the World Cup, Neville explained on The Overlap why he would still want the defender in his own team.“I went back. He conceded 60 odd goals, Romero, for Tottenham last season. I know he didn’t play all the time, but your eyes don’t deceive you about a player. “It might sound crazy, but I actually wouldn’t mind Cristian Romero in my team. I wouldn’t mind that.“I’m surprised Chelsea didn’t sign him. Now they (Tottenham) might not have wanted to sell him to Chelsea, but I was surprised Chelsea didn’t sign him.“I thought he would have been perfect for Chelsea as that aggressive centre-half in a back three. I am surprised they didn’t sign him.Arsenal legend Ian Wright agreed with that assessment, adding, “Chelsea would have been a good club for him.”Not a great start to life for Romero at Atletico MadridRomero missed Atletico Madrid’s opening three games of the season as he worked on his fitness after a lengthy break following Argentina’s World Cup final heartbreak.He finally made his debut on Saturday at the iconic San Mames in Bilbao, a stadium that holds special memories for the defender after he helped Tottenham lift the Europa League there last year. This time, however, Romero left with a very different memory as Diego Simeone’s side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Athletic Club.The centre-back started on the bench and was introduced with 30 minutes remaining, meaning only one of Athletic Club’s three goals came while he was on the pitch. Romero managed just 1 defensive contribution during his half-hour appearance unfortunately.READ MORE: Roberto De Zerbi names four Tottenham stars who had ‘great games’ vs Forest The post Gary Neville is ‘surprised’ Chelsea overlooked signing £34m Tottenham star appeared first on Spurs Web.