Tottenham transfer: Van der Vaart urges club to ‘immediately get rid’ of Spurs target for cut-price fee
Former Tottenham Hotspur star Rafael van der Vaart has urged Feyenoord to “immediately get rid” of Santiago Gimenez if they receive a bid this summer.
The 22-year-old has been one of the leading strikers in the Eredivisie in recent years and he has 24 goals in his 34 appearances across all competitions this season.
Gimenez to Tottenham…
The Mexico international’s form has fuelled reports linking him with a move to the Premier League and he has been mentioned as a potential target for Tottenham.
Spurs are yet to sign a natural replacement for Harry Kane, who left his boyhood club to join Bayern Munich in a deal worth around £86m with add-ons last summer. Richarlison and Heung-Min Son have stepped up in the Englishman’s absence but they are still expected to pursue a new striker in the summer.
On the face of it, Gimenez appears like a decent option for Tottenham but the striker has had his critics this season. Last month, journalist Valentijn Driessen insisted he “would not pay €5m” to sign him.
“He is not worth €50million,” De Telegraaf journalist Driessen said.
“[€50million] is the value they think they will sell him for. If you watch him now, I would not pay €5million for him.”
Former Tottenham midfielder Van der Vaart has also hit out at Gimenez. He thinks Feyenoord should “get rid” of him “immediately” if a suitable offer comes in.
“We have already discussed that Feyenoord will lose many players. Many players who are in the spotlight,” Van der Vaart told Studio Voetbal.
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“I have a lot of doubts (about Gimenez). I once said that he took away my doubts when he was really good. But even after this goal (vs Heracles) I didn’t think he played very well.
“If someone offers 20 or 25 million euros, then you really have to get rid of him. If someone wants to pay a lot of money for him, do it (the deal) immediately.”
Towards the end of last year, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed Spurs have “sent their people to follow Gimenez”.
“We continue to have rumours about Santiago Gimenez, who is doing very well at Feyenoord – rumours about Chelsea and about Tottenham,” Romano told Caught Offside.
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“But from what I can tell you, Tottenham sent their people to follow Gimenez multiple times, he’s going very well and scoring goals, but at the same time I’m hearing Chelsea are not making him a priority and are focusing on other players.
“Chelsea know the situation well, that Gimenez could be available for around €45m in January, but at the moment nothing concrete is ongoing, but I’ll keep you posted if the situation changes.
“It’s also important to say that Tottenham keep following the player, so that could be one to watch as it looks like Gimenez could be an important player on the market in the near future.”
