Manager now confident his £13m player isn’t leaving despite links to Tottenham

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Union Saint-Gilloise manager Alexander Blessin is confident star defender Koki Machida won’t leave this January despite links to Tottenham.

The north London side have been rumoured with a move for the 26-year-old centre-back, with reports suggesting that Tottenham will need to shell out £13m to sign the Japanese international.

However, with Spurs set to complete the capture of Genoa defender Radu Dragusin in the coming days, a move for Machida might already be off the table for Tottenham this January.

And speaking to Voetbal Nieuws, Union SG manager Blessin has now publically stated his confidence in Machida staying with the Belgian side this January,

Blessin said: “When there is talk about transfers, I think it is more about next season. The market is open, those players deserve their national selections and if they perform well there, we know how things can go in football.

“If big clubs are interested in my players, then that is no problem for me. That just means that we are doing a good job here. I have no fear that a player would leave.”

Tottenham could wait until the summer to sign Koki Machida

With Dragusin set to arrive soon, it makes sense why Tottenham might now not be so keen on signing another centre-back this January.

However, the summer window could be a different story entirely, with Ange Postecoglou likely to dip into the defender market yet again to bring his tally of quality centre-backs up from three to four.

And in such a case, Machida could be who the Australian manager looks to sign, especially with Machida such a big fan of the Japanese market and having an eye for astute signings.

Indeed, Machida might not be heading to the north London this month, but there’s every chance that Tottenham could look to sign the 26-year-old in the summer.