Napoli defender Kim Min-jae has established himself as one of the best defenders in Serie A in his first season in Europe’s top five leagues.
His consistent performances in the league helped lead Napoli to the Serie A championship, and his individual skills were recognized with Serie A Player of the Month and Serie A Best Defender awards. As more and more big clubs took notice of his performance, Kim was linked to most of the top clubs in Europe.
Among them, Manchester United was the most active and was considered the favorite, but recently, Munich moved to the forefront of the race to sign Kim Min-jae.
The Bavarians have reportedly offered a salary of around 10 million euros (approximately 14 billion won) after taxes and a team project to rebuild after the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, and the player is said to have been attracted to the idea and responded positively to the move.
While the Bavarians are the favorites to sign Kim, there are still a number of twists and turns. The final winner of the battle for Kim Min-jae is expected to be a different team.
German outlet ‘FCB Inside’ reported on the transfer of Kim Min-jae on July 21 (KST), saying, “Can Man City interfere with Munich?”.
“According to recent reports, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Munich sign Kim Min-jae. The player seems to have decided to join the Bavarians and negotiations with the club are very positive. Reporter Fabrizio Romano also admitted that the transfer is 90 percent complete, saying that Kim Min-jae’s move to Munich is imminent.
“However, it is not a done deal, especially as Man City could step in again. According to German newspaper ‘TZ’, Pep Guardiola is interested in Kim Min-jae,” he said, adding that City are still considering a move for the player.
The outlet emphasized that money could play a key role in the race between Munich and City.
“A bidding war is unlikely due to his €50 million buyout, but City could outbid Munich in terms of salary and agent fees,” said FCB Inside. According to reports, Munich have offered Kim a salary of €17 million and a fee of €15 million for the player,” explaining that City could outbid Munich in terms of money. 안전놀이터
As for the timing of Kim’s decision, “Kim won’t want to make a quick decision on a new club when his basic military training is less than two weeks away. We can’t expect a quick decision,” he said, predicting that the signing battle will not be resolved until July, when the military training is completed and the buyout is triggered.
In the end, the battle for Kim Min-jae is expected to continue until July, when his buyout is triggered, with Munich, Man City, and Man United among those interested.