Look at the clubs they joined from. Maddison came form relegated Leicester. Porro Sporting. Neither were pulling up trees.
Romero came from Atalanta when he was just a highly promising 21 year old. What Romero needed was to play week in, week out for a club in the top 4 of EPL or La Liga, and play in the CL, which he has done for us. He would not have played regularly at Liverpool , Bayern, Barcelona etc. But he has always been destined for someone like Real Madrid by the time he is 26/27.
We are a proven to be a great stepping stone club for the best young players with massive potential.
- Modric (left us at 25, then won 28 major trophies, inc six CLs, 6 Club World Cups, 5 European Super Cups, 4 LaLiga titles, 2 Copas del Rey and 5 Spanish Super Cups.
- Walker (left us at 26, then won 17 major trophies, inc. six PL titles and the CL)
- Bale (left us at 24, then won 19 major trophies , inc. five CLs and 3 La Liga titles)
- Carrick (left us at 25, then won 9 major trophies inc. five PLs, the CL, the EL and multiple FA cups)
- Berbatov (left us at 27, then won 2 PL titles, and the league cup)
I bet Kane wishes he'd left us when he was 26/27 as well with hindsight.
Tel should be thinking he can join us for 2-3 seasons and then get a mega move to a club that actually wins titles.