English Premier League side Manchester United have made moves to sign defender Kim Min-jae (26), it has been revealed.
Italian transfer market expert Alfredo Pedulla said on social media on Thursday (June 4), “Manchester United have held two negotiations with Kim Min-jae’s side,” adding, “At the moment there is no sign (of a deal). (Manchester United’s offer) is for a salary of €6-7 million plus fringe benefits.”
According to Italian media, Kim earns €2.5 million a year at Napoli. That’s up to three times his salary, making it hard for Napoli to refuse.스포츠토토
Manchester United are among the favourites to sign the midfielder this summer. “Manchester United want to sign Kim Min-jae,” the highly respected transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano reported earlier this month.
Despite being a key part of Napoli’s core, Kim is only on the market a year after joining the club because of a buyout clause. Napoli had a buyout clause when they signed Kim ahead of this season. The buyout clause is said to be in the region of €50-60 million. The clause is only active for 15 days in this summer’s transfer window for clubs outside of Italy. If they meet the buyout clause, they can immediately set up a negotiating table with the player, regardless of the club’s response. Napoli reportedly pushed to remove the buyout clause or increase the fee as Manchester United and other clubs emerged as potential suitors for Kim, but have effectively given up due to the club’s salary cap policy.
Having secured a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League, Manchester United are aiming to win the Premier League next season, as well as European competitions and cups. As such, they are looking to strengthen their squad, with frontline strikers and defenders being their top targets. Rafael Varane and Lissandro Martinez are the first-choice defenders, but they are prone to injuries and the back-up defenders, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, are not as reliable as Varane and Martinez. Maguire and Lindelof have been linked with a move away from the club. “Baran is an injury risk, so it’s good to have someone new to compete with him,” said Paul Park, who played in the Manchester United defence during his playing days, “Kim Min-jae needs to earn his place in the best 11. It would be a surprise if Kim is willing to come to Manchester United and fight for an unguaranteed (starting) spot.”
“Manchester United and Kim will hold new negotiations,” Pedulla said, reaffirming that “the buyout amount is €60 million and will be activated from 1 to 15 July.”
Kim, who joined Napoli from Turkkiye Fenerbahçe ahead of this season, has emerged as one of the best defenders in Europe’s top five leagues in his first year in the big leagues. He became the first Asian player to win the Serie A Player of the Month award in September last year, and this season he completed the double by winning the Serie A Best 11 and Best Defender awards.
Kim played 3,055 minutes in 35 Serie A games, scoring two goals and providing two assists, while also putting up some remarkable defensive stats, including 1.6 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game.