According to a new update, Manchester United are increasingly likely to sign Napoli center-back Kim Min-jae during the summer transfer window.
Has Kim Min-jae been linked to United?
The South Korean has seen his stock skyrocket this season, thanks to a memorable campaign that has earned him legendary status in Naples.
Kim was a standout performer for Napoli as they won their first Serie A title since 1990, and he is now regarded as one of Europe’s best center-backs. According to WhoScored, the 26-year-old started 35 of his team’s 38 league matches, averaging 3.5 clearances per game in the league and 3.6 in the Champions League.
United are looking for a new central defender before the start of the next season, and the Napoli star has emerged as a top target, with various reports linking him with a summer move to Old Trafford. Now, a new claim has emerged, implying that he could be on his way to the Premier League.
“Insiders” at Napoli now “take it for granted” that Kim will be a United player this summer, according to Gazzetta dello Sport [via Sport Witness]. They are prepared to trigger his release clause, which is worth at least €50 million (£43 million), effectively sealing the deal.
What that fee is reportedly depends on the Red Devils’ turnover in 2022, with the hope that he can be signed for a relatively low fee, but the defender appears to be on his way to England.
Kim could be the ideal centre-back signing for United this summer, bolstering their options and taking them to the next level. Harry Maguire could leave, as could Victor Lindelof, and while Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have shone in stages as a partnership, the latter is now 30 years old and prone to injury.
As a result, Kim, along with Martinez, could be viewed as the future of United’s backline, with his combination of defensive expertise and ball-playing quality, both of which could make Erik ten Hag’s side a real force, having enjoyed a 91% pass completion rate in Serie A in 2022/23.
Park Ji-sung, a former Reds hero, has described his £33,000-a-week compatriot as “extraordinary,” which is high praise from someone who knows how to make the grade at Old Trafford, and the club must do everything possible to secure his signature in the coming weeks.
