I want to get one more! Coach Frank said, Son Heung-min's replacement is Lee Kang-in!81.1 billion won in transfer fee for the start of negotiations
Aug 24, 2025
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Tottenham manager Thomas Frank gave a huge hint. Tottenham won a surprise 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the second round of the English Premier League in the 2025-2026 season at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on the 23rd (Korea time). Tottenham, which won two consecutive games, became a surprise leader. However, the squad is thin due to continuous recruitment failures and injuries. Tottenham needs a new player, which has to go all the way to the European Champions League.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, Frank said "We have a great squad, but we would like to make further reinforcements if possible. We will definitely bring one more player by the end of the transfer window."
Local media expect this one to be Lee Kang-in. Duncan Castle, a reporter for British media 'The Times' on the 23rd, said on his podcast 'Football Transfers' Tottenham, which lost Eberechi Eze to Arsenal, is interested in recruiting Lee Kang-in. Castle said "One of the players Tottenham negotiated with is Lee Kang-in. Dating back to the start of this summer, Tottenham have held discussions about bringing in Lee Kang-in, who was a bench member last season, from PSG," he said.
PSG then wants to protect Lee Kang-in. However, if the player receives an attractive offer and the financial terms of the transfer fee are clear, he is willing to sell Lee Kang-in on the premise that he has time to purchase a replacement. Son Heung-min was able to transfer to LA FC because Chairman Daniel Levy was interested in Lee Kang-in."
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Tottenham missed 'Son Heung-min's replacement' in front of their eyes. It was also hijacked by Arsenal. Arsenal confirmed their transfer to Arsenal through the club's official channel on the 24th. We succeeded in signing a long-term contract with him, the release said. Arsenal said 'Welcome home to our new No 10, a boyhood gooner and always just Arsenal.
The transfer fee was not disclosed, but it is known to be 67.5 million pounds (about 126.4 billion won) including bonuses. It is the third highest transfer fee in the club's history. Eze was assigned the number 10 that Dennis Berkamp, Jack Wilshire, Mejut Ozil and others wore in the past.
Eze, who grew up on the Arsenal youth team from 2006 to 2011, has since played for Fulham, Reading and Millwall. Eze, who moved to Crystal Palace in the 2020-2021 season due to his performance with the Queens Park Rangers (QPR), immediately emerged as the team's ace. Eze, who has explosive dribbling breakthrough and playmaking ability, drew attention from big clubs with her amazing performance last season. Eze scored 14 goals and 12 assists last season to lead Crystal Palace to their first FA Cup championship. He even scored the winning goal in the final against Manchester City.
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Matistel has been completely traded, but he is far short of Son Heung-min. Mohammed Kudus, who has emerged as a new ace, is a player who moves between the center and the right. Tottenham had their eye on Crystal Palace's Eze. Tottenham offered a transfer fee of £60 million, and Eze also responded positively to Tottenham's transfer. The Sun said 'Eze also conveyed his intention to join Tottenham', and Fabrizio Romano also agreed with Tottenham's project '. He said he hopes to move to Tottenham as soon as possible. On top of that, Tottenham is known to be close to Eze's agency.
But the tide has changed. Kai Havertz recently suffered a sudden knee injury. Long-term departures have become inevitable. Arsenal urgently found a replacement. It was Eze. Arsenal have been linked to Eze since the beginning of the transfer market this summer. He was reluctant because of the high ransom, but when the situation came to this, he met Crystal Palace's requirements. The BBC reported that `I will give Mikel Arteta a fresh option in the attacking side' and that `Eze wants to join Arsenal before the transfer window closes on September 1st.'
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In particular, Tottenham has had one painful experience in the transfer market this summer. Morgan Gibbs-Tried to sign White but failed. Nottingham Forest protested that they had never given permission to negotiate a transfer, and that was not the case. Even Eze failed to recruit him, putting him in the worst situation. The Daniel Levisic negotiations, which always take one last step, failed again, and this time it was on the cutting board.
For Tottenham, which lacks second-line resources due to Son Heung-min's departure, James Medicine's sudden injury, and Dejan Kulusevski's long-term injury, recruitment was a necessity, not an option. Lee Kang-in is on the list.
Lee Kang-in's future was a hot potato this summer. He gave a hint of 'de-PSG' early on. Lee Kang-in deleted all PSG-related introductions on his SNS profile before the end of the season. Not only the red and blue circles symbolizing PSG, but also PSG's SNS account tags have been deleted. In fact, it has covered up all traces of PSG.
Lee Kang-in made changes to SNS ahead of his transfer in the past. Lee Kang-in, who played for Mallorca (Spain) at the time in 2023, received love calls from many clubs, and immediately announced his transfer to PSG after deleting introductions related to Mallorca. Therefore, there was a series of interpretations that Lee Kang-in expressed his dissatisfaction with PSG and expressed his intention to transfer.
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However, after the winter transfer market, the stream of water changed. After former Kim Min-jae's Napoli teammate Khvicha Kravatshelia was recruited, his position declined sharply. Usman Dembele established himself as the central striker, and the offense was advanced, and the combination of Fabien Lewis, Vitinya and João Neves was solid in the waist. In the end, Lee Kang-in's role, which had no room to play, was noticeably reduced.
In particular, he was completely shunned in big games. PSG has been on a roll without Lee Kang-in. He lifted the much-desired European Champions League (UCL) trophy and achieved a quadruple beyond the treble. Lee Kang-in was included in the UCL final list, but did not play. He also played in the Club World Cup, but he was not called by Enrique even on an important stage.
Although he lost his place at PSG, many clubs showed interest in Lee Kang-in, who has excellent skills. English clubs such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, as well as Serie A's Napoli and Spain's Primera Liga's Atletico Madrid, watched Lee Kang-in's situation.
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PSG wants a major squad reorganization, but they don't want to send Lee Kang-in. PSG gave high marks not only to Lee Kang-in's skills but also to his marketing power. In particular, Enrique intends to use Lee Kang-in in various positions. However, Lee Kang-in has other options in mind. L'Equipe thought Lee Kang-in's future was stabilized after winning the Super Cup. PSG did not doubt that Lee Kang-in was with him. And Lee Kang-in's aides also stuck to the club's decision"In the last few days, Lee Kang-in has nevertheless resumed the process of reflecting on his future."
The meeting between Lee Kang-in and Tottenham can be a win-win in itself. It is worth paying attention to the remaining transfer market as to whether Lee Kang-in will wear the number 7 left by Son Heung-min.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
