Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has discovered how much it will cost to sign Ange Postecoglou’s reported top target in January, and it could force him to pay out a huge fee to keep the Australian happy. Reports suggest Spurs are tracking in-form Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez ahead of a potential January swoop, but his sensational form means the Premier League side will have to pay a premium.
Gimenez has already scored 18 goals in all competitions this season from just 15 appearances, making him one of Europe’s most lethal marksmen. The 22-year-old has outscored Manchester City star Erling Haaland and is only behind ex-Spurs talisman Harry Kane in the goalscoring stakes this term, with the Bayern Munich man already on 22 goals from 16 games.
The club decided not to rush into finding a replacement for Kane in the summer, but they could be forced to move in the coming weeks to sign a striker to lead the line with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski – and Gimenez is on their radar.
L’Equipe claim that Spurs are one of several clubs following Gimenez ‘closely’ and Feyenoord may be willing to sell him as early as January. The price quoted for the Mexico international is £43.4million (€50m), and with funds to spend from the sale of Kane, Levy may be willing to sanction the deal.
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Spurs spent the best part of £45m to bring in Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, but a large chunk of the cash raised from Kane’s departure has been left unspent. Alejo Veliz, the only striker to join the club this summer, had already arrived in a £13m deal from Velez Sarsfield and there is still around £55m left in the kitty.
Levy won’t need telling that while Spurs have not struggled for goals since Kane’s departure, the wheels have come off for Postecoglou after a storming start to the campaign. His side won eight out of their first 10 games without being beaten, but his side have now lost three games in a row – including a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Chelsea and Manchester United have also been linked with the Argentinian-born attacker, who started his career in the Liga MX before heading to Holland. He has won 24 caps for Mexico and found the net four times since his national team debut in 2021.
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Levy may decide to move quickly to secure Gimenez’s signature before his stock rises even further. Feyenoord paid just £10m to sign him from Cruz Azul 18 months ago and could make a huge profit on their investment if Spurs meet their asking price when the transfer window opens, with interest in Italy possibly sparking a bidding war.
Morris Pagniello, an intermediary working with Gimenez’s father Christian to decide his next club, has reinforced the idea that Spurs are well-positioned to submit an offer, although Real Madrid could throw a spanner in the works.
“We have already spoken with Atletico Madrid,” he told Tuttomercato. “We also talked about him with Inter, AC Milan, Lazio and Napoli. For me, he could be perfect for both Inter and Juventus. They would be the best options for him.
“I’ve been telling various clubs to believe in him, his value went from €10m to €40m in just under 12 months. Now the teams closest to him are Real Madrid and Tottenham.”
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