Kim Min-Jae’s camp have denied reports suggesting that Napoli’s Serie A winning centre-half has agreed a move to Premier League giants Manchester United ahead of the summer transfer window.
But don’t despair. Just because Kim Min-Jae is not bound for Old Trafford just yet, that does not mean the South Korean colossus won’t still be following in Park Ji-Sung’s footsteps before September 1st. P
atience is not always a virtue shared by football supporters, but it’s one that will be required during what could be a tense summer at United.
Neopolitan publication Il Mattino reported this week that Kim – who replaced Kalidou Koulibaly at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and helped the Partenopei seal their first Scudetto in over 30 years – was only a few ‘details’ away from sealing a potential £43 million move to Erik ten Hag’s Man United.
Such suggestions, however, always felt a little premature.
With the ownership situation still very much uncertain, Man United are not yet in a position to speed up negotiations.
Furthermore, with an elite centre-forward at the top of Ten Hag’s wishlist – one that is likely to set the Red Devils back around £100 million – any deal for Kim is likely to be dependent on United first finding a buyer for Harry Maguire.
Is Kim Min-Jae heading to Manchester United from Napoli?
“(Reports of) the transfer to Manchester United are not true,” Kim’s camp tell Korean publication Star News. “He does not need to rush.”
Kim might not ‘need to rush’, but his many suitors may feel that they do.
Kim’s £43 million release clause, Fabrizio Romano points out, is due to expire on June 15th. If Manchester United have any plans of triggering it over the next four weeks, then some clarity will be required sooner rather than later about who will be calling the shots at Old Trafford beyond this season; the Glazers, Sheikh Jassim or the current frontrunner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti describes Kim as the ‘best defender in the world’.
Excellent in the air yet technically-proficient; the 6ft 3ins so-called ‘Korean Van Dijk’ could replace Raphael Varane in Ten Hag’s XI due to his superior passing range. The 26-year-old looks the ideal long-term partner for Lisandro Martinez.
“Kim to United? At Everton, we already had all the videos of him. In England, they have noticed him for some time,” Carlo Jacomuzzi, who scouted the former Fenerbahce powerhouse during his time at Goodison Park, tells Radio Marte.
“He stood out in Turkey. After winning the Scudetto with Napoli, the Korean has shown that he has reached an enviable level of play. He knows how to do a bit of everything, and we like him in England.
“He’s perfect for the Premier League. Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool looks like him, so to speak.”
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