Fenerbahce president Ali Koc has revealed that Jose Mourinho tried to sign rumoured Tottenham target Kim Min-jae a year ago.
Spurs were heavily linked with Kim during the summer of 2020, with multiple sources (SPOTV News and 90 min) reporting at the time that the North London club were trying to snap him up from Beijing Guoan.
The central defender left the Chinese club to join Fenerbahce last summer and is enjoying an impressive debut season in Turkish football.
Turkish outlet Fotospor reported ahead of the January transfer window that Spurs have been impressed with the 25-year-old’s performances for the Super Lig giants.
Kim is still reported to be on Tottenham’s radar, with Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda claiming last month that the Lilywhites have sent scouts to Turkey to watch the centre-back this season.
CNN Turk subsequently revealed that Spurs had even opened talks with Fenerbahce over a deal for the South Korean international this summer.
Koch has now revealed that Mourinho wanted to sign Kim 12 months ago but the transfer fee proved to be the sticking point.
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The Fenerbahce president told Gazete Vatan: “There is a great interest in our five or six of our players. However, it is very difficult to replace all of them.
“Jose Mourinho wanted Kim Min-jae a year ago. They did not pay the 14 million euros (around £12 million).”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is unclear if Koch means Mourinho wanted to bring Kim to Spurs or tried to take him to Roma last summer. I suspect it was the latter, even though we were also linked with a move for the 25-year-old when the Portuguese coach was in charge.
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