Report: Tottenham set to reignite interest in 23-year-old

Tottenham Hotspur have already managed to get some of their summer transfer business done early but reports indicate that the Lilywhites are still looking to offload fringe players to bring in another centre back and a striker before the window shuts next month (Football.London).

One central defender who has been heavily linked with the club is Beijing Guoan’s Kim Min-Jae, who was rumoured to be close to completing a move to Spurs last month (Sports.news.naver via TEAMtalk).

However, since then, there have been hints that the Lilywhites have stepped back from the negotiations for the defender, with Goal’s Korean football journalist Steve Han suggesting that Tottenham’s approach never went beyond an enquiry.

Reports indicated that the likes of PSV Eindhoven (Eindhovens Dagblad) and Lazio (Il Messaggero via Calcio Mercato) had moved ahead of the Lilywhites in the race for the defender.

However, Citta Celeste have now claimed that Spurs very much continue to retain an interest in the South Korean international.

While discussing Lazio’s attempts to sign Kim, they report that the Serie A club will have to beat out Spurs to sign the central defender, with the North Londoners poised to renter negotiations with Beijing Guoan.

The report asserts, however, that Jose Mourinho’s men are not willing to meet the Chinese Super League club’s €15 million (£13.3million) valuation, which could open the door for Lazio to swoop for the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, Chosun journalist, Gun Lee (as translated by TBR Football) also backs up the above claim and suggests that Tottenham may be about to restart negotiations again for Kim through an intermediary.

Spurs Web Opinion

It sounds as if while our interest in Kim is genuine, we are keeping our options open in case other central defenders become available. The one obvious name that springs to mind is Milan Skriniar, who reportedly could become available.

While Skriniar has said that he would like to stay at Inter, it looks likely that the Nerrazuri will cash in on him to raise funds for their transfer targets. I imagine Spurs will want to be in a position to pounce if the Slovak becomes available.

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