{"id":1249,"date":"2026-04-27T07:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2026-04-27T07:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:20:16","slug":"tottenham-may-have-to-shatter-transfer-record-to-land-kees-smit-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1249","title":{"rendered":"Tottenham may have to shatter transfer record to land Kees Smit this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-392585\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on landing AZ Alkmaar starlet Kees Smit, but the latest update regarding the midfielder\u2019s future suggests that it will be a very difficult deal for Roberto De Zerbi\u2019s men to complete.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Spurs boast of some excellent young midfielders in their ranks, with big things expected out of the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>However, it appears that the Lilywhites want to add another exciting young central midfielder to their squad ahead of the summer.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports,\u00a0Tottenham are fans of AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit, who has emerged as one of the best young players in the Eredivisie over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Tottenham target Kees Smit\" class=\"wp-image-392944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272155017-scaled.jpg 1280w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"DEVENTER, NETHERLANDS - APRIL 23: Kees Smit of AZ Alkmaar during the Dutch Eredivisie match between Go Ahead Eagles and AZ Alkmaar at De Adelaarshorst on April 23, 2026 in Deventer, Netherlands. (Photo by Dennis Bresser\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images)\">Photo by Dennis Bresser\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tottenham-may-have-to-battle-four-other-premier-league-clubs-for-kees-smit\">Tottenham may have to battle four other Premier League clubs for Kees Smit<\/h2>\n<p>CaughtOffside have now claimed that the 20-year-old\u2019s confidence on the ball and his ability to control the tempo of matches have attracted the attention of scouts across the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>The report reveals Tottenham have observed Smit\u2019s progress this season, but their pursuit is expected to be hard as several other top Premier League clubs are also circling over the youngster.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea are believed to view the midfielder as part of their long-term project, while Man United are also set to make a move for the Dutchman as they eye rebuilding their midfield.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Arsenal and Liverpool have also been mooted as potential destinations for Smit, with both clubs scouring the market for midfielders who are comfortable on the ball.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-alkmaar-expected-to-demand-a-dutch-record-fee-for-smit\">Alkmaar expected to demand a Dutch record fee for Smit<\/h2>\n<p>The interest in the Alkmaar man is not restricted to the Premier League, with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund also keeping tabs on the player.<\/p>\n<p>Smit\u2019s future is expected to be \u2018one of the defining stories\u2019 of the summer window as clubs scramble to secure the young starlet.<\/p>\n<p>Super agent Jorge Mendes has been tasked by Alkmaar to manage negotiations for the Netherlands international, with the Eredivisie club hoping to raise somewhere between \u20ac60m (\u00a352m) and \u20ac80m (\u00a369.3m) from his sale.<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-feedback\">\n<div class=\"info\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\"> <path fill=\"#EC1B23\" d=\"M27.167 5.194c.261-.124.444-.325.75-.403-1.331-1.581-3.131-2.651-5.114-3.196-1.88-.517-4.161-.765-6.074-.262-1.756.461-3.144 1.672-4.802 2.352-2.104.862-4.426.657-6.531-.104.48 4.57.969 9.13 1.498 13.651 1.279.743 2.629.96 4.079.712 1.594-.273 3.005-1.037 4.47-1.677 1.684-.737 3.42-1.106 5.263-.953 2.008.167 3.886.889 5.715 1.689 1-1.933.535-4.317.117-6.342-.369-1.788-1.136-4.145.629-5.467.261-.124-.241.181 0 0z\"\/> <path d=\"M8.045 27.831c.098.865.627 3.145-.403 3.11-.497-.016-.622-.631-.692-1.325-.88-8.808-2.006-17.214-2.822-25.862-.043-.456-.205-1.421.519-1.44.665-.017.749 1.267.749 1.267s2.242 20.663 2.649 24.25z\"\/><\/svg> <span>Have something to tell us about this article?<\/span> <span><button class=\"button\" onclick=\"window.location.href=\" http:=\"\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Feedback\">Let us know<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on landing AZ&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}