Defensive reinforcements seem to be at the heart of most of the transfer rumours surrounding Spurs at the moment and one name doing the rounds for the last couple of months is Kim Min-Jae.

The South Korean defender goes by the nickname "monster" and currently plies his trade in China with Beijing Guoan. He is considered one of the top defenders in the Chinese Super League but then again that might not be saying much.

Indeed Kim Min-Jae got himself into hot water earlier this year when in an interview in his native Korea he made some unflattering comments about his teammates in Beijing and the standard of Chinese football in general.

By in large it's not a great idea to bad mouth the guys who you are sharing a dressing room with, at least not in public but in China to make any kind of public critique of the country or the people is likely to incur the wrath of the fabled wu-mao army - a group of internet commentators paid wu-mao (half a penny) per pro-China, pro-Communist party comment they leave on social media.

Whether or not Kim Min-Jae's comments were correct (and they almost certainly were) is irrelevant. Since making them the chances of a transfer to Europe have grown exponentially and with the Chinese Super League season due to start shortly a deal is likely to be concluded sooner rather than later.

The rumours within his native Korea around a possible switch to Tottenham Hotspur have intensified this week with the country's number 1 newspaper putting an article out just yesterday that states

“Tottenham is showing an interest in Kim Min-jae,” said an official familiar with European football. “Kims's representatives have been in contact with Tottenham and have not lost interest,” he said. “I am currently in contact with Beijing through Kim's agent. "It's not negotiations between the 2 club's, but Kim Min-jae's agent is negotiating with Beijing on behalf of Tottenham." Tottenham's interest in Kim Min-jae is also based on a recommendation by South Korean captain Son Heung-min and possibility that a deal can be done at a relatively low price."

source

The article goes on to suggest that the price is somewhere in the region of £10million (12million Euro) which puts him very much within the reach of a Spurs side who are likely to be shopping for budget deals this year.

In Toby Alderweireld, Davison Sanchez, Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga, Spurs already have options at centre-back and so Kim Min-Jae would likely be given time to develop and adapt to English football.

His fellow countryman Son Heung-Min took a couple of seasons to really get going at Spurs but as detailed in a recent article he has since become one of the standout performers for this team, improving year-on-year.

At 23-years old (the same age that Son was when he joined Spurs), the Tottenham board will hope that Kim's career can take a similar trajectory and beyond just performances on the pitch, the player's commercial value in Korea alongside national captain Son is likely to be considerable.

The link with Son should put Spurs in a good position to get this deal over the line and they will be keen to seek an affordable replacement for the outgoing Jan Vertonghen. I don't think we can call this a done deal just yet as you never know who might be lurking in the shadows to try and hijack the move but the news out of Korea from established agencies seems very promising.

Chances of Transfer: 80%