Former manager says 22-year-old Spurs target is ‘ready to make the jump’ 

Former Ajax manager Hans Westerhof, who has held a number of big positions across Dutch football, is convinced that Tottenham target Santiago Gimenez is ready to make the step up to a bigger club.

Gimenez has started the new campaign from where he left off last season, having found the back of the net 10 times in seven league games so far for Feyenoord.

Last week, 90 min reported that scouts from Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea had all travelled to the Netherlands to watch the Mexican in action this season, adding that they had been impressed by his performances.

It was subsequently reported by Fichajes a few days ago that Real Madrid had also entered the race to sign Gimenez. The outlet alleged that the La Liga giants would have to put in a bid of €50m (£43.3) to lure the striker away from De Kuip.

The publication also asserted that Los Blancos had to act fast as several Premier League sides, including Spurs, are circling around the centre-forward.

Is Santiago Gimenez a good fit for Tottenham?

Westerhof believes that while Feyenoord has been the ideal place for Gimenez to develop his game, the striker is ready to move to a bigger league.

He told ESPN about the Mexican international: “He is certainly ready to make the jump to another league. At this moment, Feyenoord is the ideal place for him, because the team has two good wingers, he has many crosses, especially to the first post, which is his speciality. 

“Last year, he had a creative behind, Santiago has a good eye for spaces, and if he didn’t have a good creative that wouldn’t help. He also has two good midfielders who enter the large area well. As there are up to three players in the attack, Santiago takes advantage of that position.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Everyone who follows the Eredivisie closely appears to be convinced that Gimenez can score goals in any competition. 

However, we have seen time and again that attackers who arrive from the Netherlands struggle to produce a similar output in the Premier League, when they come up against better-organised defences and quicker defenders.

So, I would prefer Spurs spend a little extra to land Jonathan David or Dusan Vlahovic rather than paying £40m for Gimenez.