Manchester United’s heart towards ‘monster’ Kim Min-jae (Napoli) is sincere.
Negotiations have already begun. On the 11th (Korean time), Italy’s Tuto Mercato reported, “Negotiations between Man U and Min-jae Kim have begun. Man U wants to sign Min-jae Kim early.” According to Tuto Mercato, they plan to use the buyout to recruit Kim Min-jae around June 15, before the buyout is activated in July. Tuto Mercato said: ‘Man United want to activate the 50-60 million euro buyout clause before May 15’. The plan is to captivate Kim Min-jae by presenting an amount of 43 to 52 million pounds, which is larger than the buyout.
Napoli secured 토토사이트 an early win regardless of the rest of the season. It is the third time Napoli has won the championship since the 1986-1987 season and the 1989-1990 season when the ‘legend’ Diego Maradona was active. Napoli won the Coppa Italia in the 2019-2020 season, but it was not a league championship. After 33 years, he won the thrilling league championship trophy.
At the center was Kim Min-jae. He wrote a new history of Korean soccer. The first Korean to win the Scudetto. From the first year of his entry, Kim Min-jae took the starting position with fantastic performances, and even won the championship. Kim Min-jae started 32 out of 33 games, played 29 games full-time, and became the proud protagonist of Napoli’s victory. Based on the five European leagues, it is the third time that a Korean has won the championship trophy, after Park Ji-sung of Manchester United and Jung Woo-young of Bayern Munich. It is the first win as a defender. It is also the first time since AS Roma’s Hidetoshi Nakata in the 2000-2001 season that an Asian player won the Serie A title. I even got the Guard of Owner.
Kim Min-jae played a big role as the core of the team throughout the season. When Kalidou Koulibaly, who was the team’s center back until last season, left for Chelsea in the English Premier League, Napoli recruited Kim Min-jae, who played for Türkiye Fenerbahce, to fill the void. There was no adaptation period for the monster who entered the big league for the first time. He was very active from the beginning of the season and quickly became the center of the team. In September of last year, Kim Min-jae was selected as the Serie A Player of the Month. Kim Min-jae was the first Asian national player to be selected as the Serie A Player of the Month, which was awarded from the 2019-2020 season.
With Kim Min-jae at the center, Napoli scored the least amount of goals (23 goals) in the league this season. In particular, in the aggressive Luciano Spalletti style, Kim Min-jae achieved amazing results with aggressive defense. A relay of praise from legends such as Fabio Cannavaro and Alexandro Costacurta followed. He performed fantastically, to the point of being debated as the best centre-back in the world beyond Italy. It is even mentioned in the best 11 of all time in Naples.
Foreign media also highly praised Kim Min-jae’s role in Napoli’s victory this season. The Associated Press listed the main players in Napoli’s victory and pointed to Kim Min-jae along with Victor Osimen, who scored the top scorer in the league this season (22 goals), and Kvica Kvaratskalia, who was selected as the player of the month last August. Regarding Kim Min-jae, he evaluated, “I was recruited as a substitute for Koulibaly, but he quickly adapted and was selected as the September player.” AFP also selected Kim Min-jae as one of the five “invisible heroes” who silently contributed to Napoli’s victory this season. AFP reported on Kim Min-jae, “Even in the early days of joining, there was a question mark, but now he has become a fan’s favorite player.”
Kim Min-jae ranked first in the ratings among Serie A defenders this season, and his personal ransom value rose sharply. Transfermarkt, which specializes in the market value of soccer players, sets the transfer fee for Kim Min-jae at 50 million euros (approximately 73.1 billion won). This is a figure that has doubled from 25 million euros in September last year, at the beginning of the season. In October 2021, when he was playing in Turkey, it was 6.5 million euros. He is second only to Asian No. 1 Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who boasts 60 million euros.
Kim Min-jae, who received attention from big clubs throughout the season with his amazing performance, seems to increase his value even more as he raises Napoli to the top. While connected to big clubs such as Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Tottenham, Manchester United has recently been active. Italy’s Corriere dello Sport said: ‘Sensational news is ruining the festival in Naples. Man United want Kim Min-jae. Manchester United can pay Kim Min-jae’s buyout,’ he said. The Manchester Evening News also said, ‘Man Utd is accelerating the recruitment of Kim Min-jae. We plan to send other center backs and bring Kim Min-jae as an option in the summer transfer market.”
Manchester United focused on recruiting Kim Min-jae early on. According to Tuto Mercato, United have been in contact with Kim Min-jae since the World Cup and are known to have made him a top priority this summer. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently appeared on a YouTube channel specializing in Manchester United news and said, “Kim Min-jae is definitely a player Manchester United is watching. He has already dispatched scouts several times.” Man United has Rafael Baran, Lisandro Martinez, and Victor Lindelof, but is planning to change tactics to add a big player named Kim Min-jae. According to the cut-offside, Manchester United are considering a three-back from Baran-Martinase-Kim Min-jae.
Kim Min-jae signed a contract with Napoli and inserted a buyout clause. Kim Min-jae will have a buyout for 15 days from July 1st to 15th. The amount is estimated at 50 million to 60 million euros. It’s not a small amount, but considering Kim Min-jae’s performance this season, it feels cheap. Kim Min-jae is a proven defender. He also raged in the European Champions League. Man Utd is planning to bring in Kim Min-jae at an early stage, even at a higher price, given that the competition for Kim Min-jae will heat up.
Napoli set out to capture Kim Min-jae. As coach Spalletti is demanding Kim Min-jae stay as a condition of staying, Napoli is in a position to catch Kim Min-jae unconditionally. The visit to Korea, which takes place as soon as the season ends, is also part of catching Kim Min-jae. Napoli is planning a friendly against Mallorca, where Lee Kang-in plays in Korea. Overlapping with the current K-League schedule, there is a lukewarm response from the Korea Professional Football Federation and the Korea Football Association. Napoli is in a position to raise Kim Min-jae’s annual salary through renewal of the contract and delay the activation of the buyout until next year. Francesco Lepis of Raisports, which is in charge of Napoli, said, “There is no reason for Kim Min-jae to go to Man Utd. Napoli is a more valuable club than Man Utd.” It appears to be a media play to win Kim Min-jae’s heart. However, since it is a buyout part, we can only look at Minjae Kim. Arenanapoli said on the 9th, ‘Clubs that want Kim Min-jae must obtain the consent of Kim Min-jae and Napoli. Napoli wants to renew the contract with Kim Min-jae, and Kim Min-jae is also happy to be active in Napoli.” It is Kim Min-jae’s appearance that only believes in his love for Naples.
The buyout activation was a device to expand the range of choices Kim Min-jae could make. For Kim Min-jae, this could be a great opportunity. Therefore, there is a high likelihood of seizing this opportunity. According to Kim Min-jae’s side, Kim Min-jae focused on winning rather than transferring. Contrary to the reports pouring in, there was no contact with other teams. Kim Min-jae plans to do military training in June. The discussion is expected to begin in earnest after the military training is over. Man Utd is actively stepping out, and catching Kim Min-jae is an aspect that gets hot from early on.