Mohamed Simakan has seemingly ruled out a summer move to Tottenham Hotspur or Everton with the Strasbourg defender making it clear that he has no plans to leave the Ligue 1 outfit just yet, while speaking to Telefoot.
Two of the most respected and successful coaches in European football have work to do this summer. Jose Mourinho, the arch-pragmatist who prides himself upon clean sheets, has been undermined again and again by Spurs’ error-prone backline and, with Jan Vertonghen set to leave in July, things could get worse before they get better.
Everton, meanwhile, have made a real pigs’ ear out of replacing Kurt Zouma with deals for the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes and Jean-Clair Todibo hitting the buffers.
No wonder, then, that both Spurs and the Toffees have allegedly expressed an interest in Simakan, a £13 million powerhouse who has helped Strasbourg punch above their weight in the French top flight (RMC).
But, at just 20 years of age, the Marseille-born centre-back sees no reason to rush anything just yet.
“I haven’t heard anything, these are rumours,” Simakan tells Telefoot.
“For now, I prefer to focus on Strasbourg because today I am here and I find that everything is fine here and we will have to continue like this. The priority is to stay at Strasbourg.”
RMC suggested that Simakan could have been on his way to Southampton too, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints keen to reinforce what is the third-worst defence in the Premier League, statistically speaking of course.
But it looks as if Southampton, Tottenham and Everton are all barking up the wrong tree here.
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