Brighton and Hove Albion flop Alireza Jahanbakhsh has admitted he has been advising Feyenoord teammate Santiago Giménez ahead of the summer, as Tottenham continue to be linked with a move.
The winger has been speaking to Kick ’t met on Ziggo Sport about the Mexican striker and what he’s advised him after his own experiences in the Premier League.
Giménez continues to be linked with a big money move this summer after impressing in the Netherlands again this season, bagging 26 goals and eight assists in 41 games in all competitions.
Tottenham have been persistently linked with a move for him over the last year and continue to be so, with a report at the beginning of this month stating that everything indicates he’ll make the move.
That followed reports about him and his agent taking a trip to Tottenham and various other claims in recent months all indicating a big transfer is on the cards.
Jahanbakhsh knows all about that process after joining Brighton in a €22.5m deal from AZ Alkmaar in July 2018.
He too had enjoyed himself in the Netherlands and established himself as a rising star but was unable to replicate that with Brighton, where he managed just four goals and two assists in 64 games over a three-year spell.
He eventually ended up back in the Netherlands with Feyenoord, where he’s now playing alongside Giménez, a player he’s keen to offer advice to as Tottenham lurk.
“To be honest, I have talked about this with Santi before,” he said.
“He’s a great player and a great kid, so we’ve already talked about this. The Premier League is a fantastic competition. Every footballer would say it is a dream to play in the Premier League.
“For me the biggest difference between the Eredivisie and the Premier League is the pace.
“You play against many more players there with a lot of quality, because the financial situation is so good.
“It is a competition that the whole world watches, so there are high expectations. In countries like the Netherlands and even Germany, players are given time to develop and get used to their environment, but in the Premier League, they expect you to be there immediately.
“You have to live up to expectations. They don’t think about the fact that a player is only 22, 23 or 24 years old and needs time to adapt to a new environment.”
The possibility of a move to La Liga was also seen as an alternative to the Premier League, with Giménez obviously speaking Spanish.
