An update has been made regarding Manchester United’s rumoured interest in Kim Min-jae, a defender for Napoli.
What’s new with Kim Min-jae joining Manchester United?
The 26-year-old is reportedly Erik ten Hag’s top target this summer, though the Red Devils appear to be making little progress in their pursuit of the South Korean center-back, according to journalist Santi Aouna.
Kim Min-jae is still Manchester United’s top priority, the transfer insider wrote on Twitter. However, the player and the negotiations haven’t made much headway lately.
In recent weeks, Newcastle has been leading. He is also a target for Chelsea and PSG.
According to 90min, the former Fenerbahce star’s current contract is thought to contain a release clause worth around €45 million (£38 million), though it is only expected to be in effect for the first two weeks of the transfer window.
What kind of gamer is Kim Min-Jae?
Although Luciano Spalletti, the departing manager of Napoli, hailed Kim as arguably the “best center-back in the world right now,” it is questionable whether Kim would be able to repeat his recent exploits in the Premier League, especially given his apparent statistical and stylistic resemblance to Kalidou Koulibaly, the current Chelsea flop, according to FBref.
The latter player, who had previously shone in Naples and had been dubbed “remarkable” and a “extraordinary leader” by the aforementioned Spalletti, was acquired from the Serie A club by Blues owner Todd Boehly on a £33 million deal last summer.
However, since moving to Stamford Bridge, the Senegalese giant “hasn’t been the formidable defender that he was when he was at Napoli,” according to ESPN pundit Stewart Robson. Ian Wright, an ex-Arsenal player, also said the player appeared “nervy.”
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Although injured, the 31-year-old has reportedly been somewhat of a disaster for Boehly, with recent reports indicating that the American may already be considering selling the faltering asset.
Ten Hag is likely to be concerned about the possibility that United will acquire Koulibaly 2.0 as a result of the signing of Kim. The Dutchman undoubtedly wants to prevent a repetition of Chelsea’s disastrous mistake.
The two defenders’ similarities can be seen in the fact that they both try to play out from the back. Kim has a similar record with an average of 80.35 attempted passes per 90 over the past 365 days and 4.81 progressive passes per 90, while the Blues dud has a similar record with an average of 69.59 and 4.07 for the same two metrics, respectively.
Both players are similar defensively; the latter recorded 45 tackles and 30 blocks in the league during the 2022–23 season, while the former Beijing Guoan player only narrowly outperformed him with 55 tackles and 36 blocks.
As a result, the similarity between the two may raise red flags at Old Trafford, and United must take care to avoid going the same route as Boehly.
