Tottenham Hotspur are ready to pay the €50m (£42m) release clause in Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae's contract to secure him as an early summer signing.
The Lowdown: A meteoric rise
South Korea international Min-jae, who has been called up to their squad for the World Cup in Qatar, has enjoyed a meteoric rise since departing the K-League.
Two seasons with Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan put him on the radar, with Fenerbahce facilitating his transition to European football, but only benefitting from a single season of his service, before he departed for Napoli.
His form for the Serie A side has completed his impressive rise, with the defender now sought-after for his ball-playing ability and respective defensive excellence.
The Latest: Eager Spurs
According to information from journalist Raffaele Auriemma, which has been relayed by Sport Witness, Tottenham are very much keen on adding Min-jae to their defensive ranks.
As per the report, Auriemma insists that Spurs are willing to pay the fee to release Min-Jae from his Napoli contract, with the north Londoners and by extension transfer chief Fabio Paratici 'already' making a 'move'.
[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-3/" title="Tottenham latest news!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]
As per Sport Witness, Auriemma said:
“I’m receiving worrying information regarding the possibility that someone could enforce the clause worth €50m because there is the possibility from the 1st to the 15th of July to buy him by paying the rescission clause.
“Diplomacy is underway to try to extend the agreement between Napoli and the player by removing the clause. We will see if Napoli will succeed.
“In the meantime, there is already one club that has made a move, we are talking about Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, who have made it known that they are ready to pay that €50m clause so that two South Koreans can play together: Kim and Son.
“This confirms how the Premier League is fertile ground for this type of footballer.”
The Verdict: A small window
Spurs will be desperate to improve defensively having registered the ninth-worst defensive record in the Premier League thus far.
On the other side, South Korean star Min-Jae is enjoying a brilliant campaign with Serie A high-flyers Napoli, having successfully filled the gap that was left by Kalidou Koulibaly's departure.
Ultimately, Spurs must capitalise on what is a contractual mistake from the Naples side, but will only have a small window to make good of it.
They will need to be uncharacteristically ruthless in this deal, and they should do just that.