Report: Tottenham set to miss out on £20m target likened to Van Dijk all thanks to Chelsea

Tottenham are reportedly set to miss out on South Korean defender Kim Min-jae to Napoli, with the Serie A side ready to sign the centre-back following the departure of Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Italian club have ramped up their interest in the Fenerbahce star after Koulibaly’s move to Chelsea was confirmed last week, with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis pushing hard to find a replacement for his star defender.

And now, it looks like Napoli will sign Kim to as Koulibaly’s heir in southern Italy, much to the dismay of Tottenham, who looked like heavy favourites all summer to sign the 25-year-old centre-back after weeks of speculation over the £20m defender.

Labelled in South Korea as their own version of Virgil van Dijk for his incredible physique and defensive qualities, Kim moved to Europe last year after signing for Fenerbahce, with the defender one of the Turkish side’s few bright spots in what was a turbulent season for the Istanbul giants.

And now, Kim looks ready to move to one of Europe’s top-five leagues, with Napoli set to sign the Asian phenom ahead of Tottenham, who have just enjoyed a successful pre-season tour of South Korea, with Heung-min Son receiving a heroes welcome in his home country.

Indeed, Tottenham have already signed a defender this summer in Clement Lenglet, however, securing Kim would have been a more exciting addition for Antonio Conte’s side, and missing out on the Napoli-bound centre-back thanks to Chelsea will sting for the north London side.

Tottenham have been excellent this summer in their manner of dramatically improving the squad with some impressive summers, yet despite some big-name additions, Spurs could regret not going all out to land Kim, who now looks set to join Napoli.

After all, Kim was one of Europe’s best defenders outside the top-five leagues, and as a long-term option in central defence, the 25-year-old Fenerbahce star would have been an exciting addition for the north London side rather than Lenglet on loan, a deal which many supporters are not excited about.