Roma boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that he almost signed Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae while he was in charge in north London, but that the club did not want to meet the 10m euro price tag that Fenerbahce had placed upon him.
Mourinho took charge of Spurs in 2019, but struggled to get a tune out of the Lilywhites and was sacked amid the uproar surrounding the European Super League, being denied the chance to contest the Carabao Cup final that his side had reached in the process.
They went on to lose 1-0 to Manchester City, and Tottenham remain the only club at which Jose Mourinho has not won a trophy, with the decorated Portuguese having got off the mark with Roma last season in the inagural Europa Conference League.
Now, the 60-year-old has revealed that he was keen to sign South Korean defender Kim Min Jae during his stint in charge, only for the club to refuse to commit the sort of funds required to bring him to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I wanted to sign Kim Min-jae when I was at Tottenham”, the Roma boss revealed. “I had some FaceTime calls with him — our bid was €5m, Fenerbahçe wanted €10m for Kim and for Tottenham that wasn’t possible at that point”.
“Now look at Kim and his level, he’s a top player”
He has also caught the eye of plenty of sides around Europe in the process, with his release clause (set at 45m euros) expected to be tested in the summer, offering an insight into just what Spurs missed out on.
