Former Eredivisie ace Bolo Zenden is backing Santiago Gimenez to move onto a major European competition after a ‘little fling’ with Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot – himself linked with Tottenham over the summer – has already indicated that Feyenoord have plans in place for the day when Santiago Gimenez inevitably bids farewell.
In Ayase Ueda, the Eredivisie champions have a readymade successor waiting in the wings.
Feyenoord are acutely aware of the challenges facing even the Netherlands biggest clubs and, after losing captain Orkun Kokcu over the summer, Slot is under no illusions that Gimenez’s shelf life is short in Dutch football, especially with the Mexico international’s agent confirming interest from not only Tottenham but also Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and co.
Santiago Gimenez is a Tottenham target
Tottenham, according to one of Gimenez’s representatives, are the club ‘closest’ to signing him at present, the ongoing speculation coming as no surprise to Zenden.
“He’s a really hard-working striker,” the former Liverpool, Chelsea and Netherlands winger tells AS. “Everybody felt that he would leave this summer, because he did so well last year. Everybody thought that he had a little fling going on with Tottenham but, in the end, he stayed at Feyenoord.”
“(Slot) is using Gimenez in the right way. They play a lot of passes in behind and he can make runs there. But I think that it’s obvious, when you’re a striker and you’re scoring goals, then all of a sudden, you’re in the big picture. That’s exactly what he’s done.
“Obviously, he could be a player that moves on in the summer to a bigger competition. I don’t see him leaving the winter yet. I’m sure that everybody wants to keep the team intact. To be able to perform well.
“And (then Gimenez can) make a move in the summer.”
Harry Kane’s replacement?
An instinctive finisher and a relentless presser, Gimenez has 15 goals in just 15 games for Feyenoord this season. For a Tottenham side without a natural number nine since selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, Gimenez would add a different dimension to Ange Postecoglou frontline.
But should the striker become too expensive, Spurs will have Manchester United to blame. Emboldened by the colossal fee Ajax brought in for Antony, 90Min beleive that Feyenoord could now hold out for an Eredivisie record fee of £87 million.
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