Journo says Tottenham could be ‘kicking themselves’ after missing out on Asian superstar

Journo: Tottenham Hotspur ‘kicking themselves’ after missing out on Kim Min-jae

Journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT that Tottenham Hotspur could be kicking themselves after missing out on Kim Min-jae last summer.

Jones was asked if Chelsea would be regretting not signing the South Korean international instead of splashing money on Kalidou Koulibaly. He replied:

“It sounds good in hindsight, but if you think about it at the time, Kim was at Fenerbahce. He signed as Koulibaly’s replacement at Napoli. I don’t think he was on their radar.

“His emergence at Napoli has been great. I know that Tottenham had been recommended him in the past. So, if anyone is kicking themselves, it might be them to be honest.”

If it is true that we indeed passed on the chance to sign him from Fenerbahce last summer, then it is very, very poor on the club’s part. The 26-year-old is a dominating physical presence at the back and is commanding Napoli’s backline with excellence.

Poor from Spurs to miss out on Kim

They have a 19-point lead at the top of the table with 11 games left in the season. Min-jae would have been a great fit for us. Antonio Conte may have left the club now but a player like him would have fit under any manager.

Napoli apparently inserted a €45million release clause in his contract last summer. To pay that now will just be paying extra money just because we were slow to recognise his talent and battle Gli Azzurri for his signature.

Spurs signed Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season. That’s it. That’s all we signed in central defence and also loaned out Joe Rodon to Stade Rennais.

We need a new centre-back. One that is world-class. Cristian Stellini is now going to be in charge until the summer so let’s hope he properly assesses our options in central defence and recommend the club to part ways with any player not up to the standard.

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Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga could also use this time to have a fresh start under a new boss.