Following a medical, his release clause has been triggered. With his predecessor gone, it’s only a matter of time before Kim joins Bayern Munich.
Transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano wrote on his social media account on September 9: “Kim Min-jae’s transfer to Munich will be announced in the next few days. The buyout was triggered yesterday and Luca Hernandez left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).”
Kim joined Fenerbahçe ahead of the 2021-22 season and made his debut in Europe. He quickly established himself as a top-notch defender in Europe’s smallest league, the Turkkiye. A number of teams were interested in him even before the season was over, and after just one year in Europe, Kim was headed to the big leagues of Italy’s Serie A. He joined Carlisle from Chelsea.
His destination was Napoli, who were looking for a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, who left for Chelsea. Despite concerns about his lack of big league experience in his second year in Europe, Kim made a huge impact. Day after day, he showed off his incredible skills, drawing favorable reviews from local Italian media and experts. Napoli rose to the top of Serie A thanks to Kim’s performance.
The Serie A secretariat awarded Kim the Best Defender award for leading Napoli to their first league title in 33 years after the 1989-90 season. It was a huge honor in his debut season, and his value skyrocketed. According to the soccer statistics website TransferMarkt, Kim’s price tag, which was €6.5 million when he joined Fenerbahçe, is now €60 million ($85.9 billion).
Transfer rumors have also emerged. Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, PSG, and other teams in need of defensive reinforcements have been mentioned as possible suitors. The transfer fee itself wasn’t a major stumbling block. The contract with Napoli included a buyout that was only valid for foreign clubs for two weeks from July 1. The amount was reportedly around €50 million.
Initially, Manchester United were the favorites. The Red Devils have been impressive this season under Eric ten Hagh. In fact, they got off to a bad start. They lost their opening two English Premier League (EPL) games. Since then, they’ve made changes to their center back combination. With Lissandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in the starting lineup, they started to turn things around.
Ahead of next season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign, the team decided to strengthen its defense. Ten Haag wanted to bring in a top-notch center back who could compete with Lisandro and Varane, and Kim Min-Jae was the man. But as time went on, no concrete news of a deal emerged, and the prospect became less and less likely. 토토사이트 순위
In the meantime, Munich emerged as the first choice. Their situation was not much different from United’s. The frontline combination of Mathias De Ligt and Dayot Upamecano hasn’t been bad this season, but they don’t have anyone to replace them. Luca Hernandez is out for the season after suffering an injury at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Upamecano has shown signs of diminishing strength in the second half of the season.
In addition, Benjamin Pavard, who can play both right-back and center-back alongside Lukaku, is also in doubt. Instead of letting them all go, Munich decided to sign