Napoli only want ‘cash’ for Kim Min-jae’s transfer.
Kim Min-jae is set to become a transfer hot potato this summer. Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are all interested in signing him, as are Manchester United, who are in need of center back reinforcements.
In a way, it makes sense. Within a year of joining Napoli, Kim has become one of the best center backs in the world. There was pressure on him to replace Napoli’s ‘living legend’ Kalidou Koulibaly, but Koulibaly’s seven years were perfectly pushed into Kim’s one year.
He was literally ‘key’. Forming a solid center-back duo with Amir Rahmani, Kim led Napoli with his steady defense and excellent build-up 안전놀이터 play. In September, he was named Serie A Player of the Month, and many outlets hailed him as the best center back in the world.
United are currently the most active in the market. The Red Devils have a solid center back duo in Lisandro Martinez and Rafael Varane, but when both players went down with injuries, the need for rotation became apparent. Their replacements, Harry Maguire and Viktor Lindelof, were not up to the task, and in the second half of the season, the Red Devils became defensively insecure.
The links keep coming. British media outlet ‘Team Talk’ reported on July 28 (KST), “United will sign a defender as their first signing this summer. The current favorite is Kim Min-jae. His contract includes a release clause of 60 million euros (about 85.5 billion won). It is valid for the first two weeks of July. Napoli have been trying to re-sign him, but sadly it seems to be to no avail now,” the report said.
United had also prepared a deal that included a player to sign Kim Min-jae. According to Italian outlet Il Matino, “United are ready to pay Kim’s buyout clause. However, they are also considering including Lindelof in the deal.”
Napoli, however, stood firm. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis wants only “cash” for Kim, and Il Martino says, “De Laurentiis has made it clear that he will not complete the deal unless the buyout clause is paid in cash. “No players will be included in the deal,” said ‘man utd news’.
