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Tottenham Hotspur may be on the verge of a (cough) Monster signing. A report from Korean outlet KBS is now saying that “negotiations are underway” between Tottenham Hotspur and Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan for the transfer of Korean international central defender Kim Min-Jae, nicknamed “Monster.”
According to the report, which they have tagged as an “exclusive,” Spurs have offered €12m (£10.8m) for Kim, while Beijing Guoan are currently holding out for €17m (£15.4m). However, negotiations are friendly and it seems likely that a deal can be worked out.
The Monster transfer links almost certainly came about through Son Heung-Min, Kim’s international teammate and friend. And frankly, if Sonny says that he’s good enough to play in the Premier League then I’m certainly not going to argue with him. As we wrote earlier, Kim is 6’3” and his highlight reel includes not only good defensive instincts but a great long passing ability and a thumping header. We described him as reminiscent of GOOD David Luiz.
KBS says that Monster has returned to China for the Super League preseason, but that he’ll decide about whether to join Spurs before the 25th of July, which is when the new Super League season starts.
And if you’re wondering about KBS, I’ve been informed that they’re a reliable source for Korean sports news — they were the first outlet to report the transfer of Hwang Hee-Chan to RB Leipzig and are considered good on Korean news. It doesn’t mean that the transfer is definitely going through, but this isn’t the Korean Daily Mail.
The Google Translate of this article did reveal this beauty, though I was reassured that it’s just a mistranslated idiom. Whew!
A rough translation of an old Korean saying "he will share a pot of rice with Son" commonly used to describe that they'll become teammates
— Chul-Ki Shin aka Steel Ghost (@dragonballki) July 15, 2020
Gotta say, there are some question marks about Monster, most notably that his performances have come against mostly sub-standard competition. And yet, if you watch his highlights there’s a ton to like about his game, and he’s another way to increase Tottenham’s profile in the Asian football market. I mean, if you think South Korea liked Spurs with Sonny, try adding another prominent Korean footballer to the team!