Tottenham and Manchester United are two of four Premier League clubs in the race to sign Napoli defender Kim Min-jae ahead of the January window – but signing the Napoli star might convince Son Heung-min to stay at Spurs.
Kim, 26, has been incredible for Napoli since joining the club from Fenerbahce in the summer. Currently at the World Cup with Son, the 44-time South Korea star has played a crucial part in Napoli remaining unbeaten in Serie A.
Napoli have won 13 of their 15 Serie A matches so far, drawing the other two. Kim has started and finished 14 of those, rested in a 1-0 win over Spezia – and played in every minute of Napoli’s six Champions League games.
Italian outlet CMW claim Tottenham, Manchester United, Brighton, Fulham and Juventus all want Kim. A fee of £43.5million might be required to land the defender. But signing Kim, might just convince Son to stay put at Spurs.
Indeed, Sport1 claim that Son is actually ‘planning’ to leave Tottenham – with Real Madrid showing interest in the star. But Son is a massive fan of his South Korea teammate, with 90Min saying he had urged Spurs to sign Kim.
Tottenham do need a central defender. Eric Dier’s form has been questionable after a brilliant start to the season. Clement Lenglet has done okay since joining, Ben Davies is consistently a 7/10. Cristian Romero is the best option.
But even Romero is somewhat prone to injury. Davinson Sanchez is often making mistakes and Joe Rodon is out on loan. So, a powerhouse like Kim in the middle of the defence makes sense. Kim is clearly rated highly by Son.
So, if Spurs did sign Kim, surely it would convince Son to remain at Spurs instead of planning to take the ‘next step’. What a signing it would be for Spurs but even more so, if it does end up keeping Son in North London.
