Manchester City are “showing interest” in Napoli centre-back Kim Min-Jae, according to TZ Munchen journalists Philipp Kessler and Manuel Bonke.
The reporters claim that the South Korean international is currently favouring a move to Bayern Munich, despite also having offers from Manchester United and Newcastle, but “there is still a risk” that the deal could be hijacked if City get involved:
Kim min-jae bevorzugt #FCBayern ggü. ManUnited und Newcastle.
Ausstiegsklausel (45 Mio. €) gilt nur bis zum 15. Juli.
Deal auf einem guten Weg, aber Restgefahr besteht. ManCity zeigt auch Interesse.
Entscheidung nach Kims Militärdienst (dauert noch ca. 2 Wochen). @mano_bonke
— Philipp Kessler (@kessler_philipp) June 20, 2023
Fans on Twitter are sceptical about the reports linking the treble winners with Kim. Many believe the club’s top priority is RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol so any move for the Napoli defender is unlikely:
Are we backing out of the Gvardiol deal?
— Peco_jnr (@JnrPeco) June 20, 2023
Not needed.
— Alvarez¹⁹SZN💙 (@GeezyHuncho) June 20, 2023
No get gvardiol
— MIL1VFX (@MIL1VFX) June 20, 2023
Not needed, just bring in Gvardiol
— Haaland’OR (@sudeep_maraseni) June 20, 2023
STOP WITH THE CB’S
— cai (@cai_zxz) June 20, 2023
BOOOOOOOOO GIVE ME GVARDIOL
— trev (@trevsenpai) June 20, 2023
Not happening
— CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE 🇳🇴🤖 (@FinallyManfred) June 20, 2023
Release clause you say???
— Jack🍊 (@CityJxck) June 20, 2023
Kim would be a lot cheaper than Gvardiol
As Kessler mentions, Kim has a €45m (£38.6m) release clause which expires on July 15th so the 26-year-old would be an option if City are priced out of a move for Gvardiol.
Leipzig’s asking price is believed to be more than double that of Kim’s at €100m (£85.75m) so you can understand why the Premier League champions may be considering him as an alternative target.
A key figure in Napoli’s title win
Kim only moved to Italy from Fenerbahce last summer but he was an integral player as the Serie A side won their first league title in over thirty years.
The fact that he is available so cheaply due to a buyout fee does present an opportunity to secure a talented player for a relatively modest price. When you factor in Txiki Begiristain’s track record of signing players with release clauses, you can’t rule it out.
