Tottenham Hotspur allegedly missed out on bringing Cagliari starlet Han to the Premier League and now he is heading to the Serie A champions.
With Aaron Ramsey, Adrian Rabiot and Matthijs de Ligt all pulling on the black and white stripes during another summer of top-class recruitment at Juventus, the signing of Han Kwang-Song is likely to fly under the radar.
And before the cynics creep out of the woodwork and accuse Juve of trying to boost their popularity in East Asia by signing the most exciting talent in North Korean football, this is more than a crude marketing venture.
Han is an exciting young striker who has made his name in Serie A with Cagliari. According to Goal, Juventus have signed the 21-year-old for a fee of around £4.5 million and they will now decide whether to integrate him with the first-team squad or send him out on loan.
Sporting director Fabio Paratici apparently believes a role in the senior side beckons – and Paratici doens’t often get things wrong.
And Tottenham will certainly be keeping tabs on Han’s development in Turin, perhaps wondering if they have missed out on the most promising player to emerge from the Far East since Heung-Min Son.
According to Tuttomercatoweb in 2018, Spurs were interested in signing a youngster who has already earned two caps for the senior North Korean national team.
But at just £4.5 million, this already feels like another bargain swoop for a Juventus side who have snapped up both Rabiot and Ramsey without spending a penny in transfer fees.
Why Cagliari have sold Han for such a minor fee is anyone’s guess. He might not have scored goals for fun in Serie A over the last 12 month but claims that Juventus feel he can immediately make an impact in the first team speaks volumes about his potential.
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