[포포투=오종헌]
Manchester United are leading the way in the race to sign Kim Min-jae, but nothing is expected to be decided until July.
According to a report by Britain’s ‘Give Me Sports’ on the 5th (Korea time), transfer market expert Fabricio Romano said through the media, “Man Utd started working on Kim Min-jae between October and November last year. So they are more competitive than other teams. “I know I’m ahead of him. And Manchester United’s interest is still there.”
At the same time, reporter Romano added, “The release license clause is implemented in July, not June. That’s clear. That’s why there’s nothing the teams who want Kim Min- jae do it at the moment.”
Kim Min-jae joined Fenerbahce after leaving Beijing Guoan (China) before last season. After taking his first steps on the European stage, he quickly proved his worth. With Kim Min-jae performing admirably every day, transfer rumors naturally flowed. The situation became quite decisive, and in the end, Kim Min-jae left for a new team after a year at Fenerbahçe.
The destination was Naples. Napoli needed a replacement after letting go of Kalidou Koulibaly. So, he recruited Kim Min-jae, whom he had been watching for a long time. Although this was the first season of Italy’s Serie A, one of Europe’s top five leagues, Kim Min-jae showed a formidable presence. He quickly established himself as Napoli’s main centre-back and contributed greatly to their first league championship in 33 years.
As a result, Kim Min-jae’s ransom price increased dramatically. According to the football statistics media ‘TransferMarkt’, when he transferred to Fenerbahce, Kim Min-jae’s market value was around 6.5 million euros (he won around 9.1 billion). Immediately after joining Napoli, it rose to 25 million euros (about 35 billion won), and now it reaches 50 million euros (about 69.9 billion won).
Following Fenerbahce, transfer rumors arose again within a year of Napoli’s transfer. With Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in talks, Manchester United are known to be leading the recruitment battle. Manchester United are looking for a top-class defender who can threaten their centre-back team of Lisandro Martinez and Rafael Varane this summer.
In particular, Manchester United is ready to trigger the release clause included in Kim Min-jae’s contract. Kim Min-jae has a contract with Napoli until the summer of 2025. And the contract includes a buyout, which has a special condition that it is only valid for foreign clubs for two weeks at the beginning of July. It is known that the amount is around 50 million euros.
However, even if Manchester United are trying to recruit Kim Min-jae, it is predicted that they will not be able to make a concrete move until July. After all, the purchase should be started after June. In addition, since Kim Min-jae will receive basic military training in June, it is expected that a decision on his future course will be made seriously after its completion.
