After Tottenham fired Ange Postecoglou, the club has to be seriously worried about the potential for losing star center back Cristian Romero, who continues to get gassed up by stars at other Premier League clubs as the best player in his position in world football.
Tottenham have been keeping an eye on center back targets around European football, mostly in Serie A, to keep a running shortlist of the best possible Romero replacements in case the 26-year-old Argentinian international hands in an official transfer request.
Atletico Madrid have been hot on Romero's heels, and while their transfer interest cooled as Romero's value to Spurs skyrocketed along the Europa League title run, that could change very soon with a hint from Romero, the 2024/25 Europa League Player of the Tournament.
Tottenham need to put the name of Kim Min-jae at the top of their list of center back alternatives. According to a report from Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich have made Kim a "clear candidate" to sell this summer and are open to transferring the 28-year-old for a "suitable" offer.
Tottenham have a new top Cristian Romero alternative
Although Kim is one of the best defenders in the world and has now played a crucial role in title-winning teams in Bayern and Napoli, he was never valued by Bayern appropriately. They constantly scapegoated him unfairly in the media despite receiving a literal notice from FIFPro that they were mistreating the player by having him grind through a significant injury.
Kim needs to get out of Bayern and that toxic situation at a club known for slagging off its own players, and he may actually find Tottenham to be a much more positive environment, for all of the clear issues under Daniel Levy's watch.
More to the point, Kim is a fantastic footballer, and while he is a couple of years older than Romero, it wasn't long ago when he was considered the better player back in his breakout season for Napoli in 2022/23 when the Partenopei first won the Scudetto.
A calm defender, accurate passer, and excellent reader of the game, Kim can bring a different skill-set to the table next to Micky van de Ven. The priority for Tottenham should be to keep Romero, but with Kim available, there isn't a more qualified alternative for the Argentinian international, should Spurs need to go down that route. Kim is a much more proven player at the top level than the players currently linked to Spurs, such as Thomas Frank favorite Nathan Collins at Brentford.