Kim Min-jae didn’t budge. After a brief lull in negotiations with Manchester United, it has emerged that his current club Napoli made a bid to re-sign him but he rejected it.
After just one year, it’s believed that he wants to leave the tranquil Italian scene for the Premier League.
Italian publication ‘La Repubblica’ covered the news of Kim Min-jae on the 12th, indicating that it is highly unlikely that he will stay at Napoli. “Napoli are letting go of Kim Min-jae, one of the pillars of the club’s third Scudetto in history (the mark the winning team wears on its jersey next season in Italy’s Serie A),” the newspaper wrote, noting that the player “has repeatedly refused to remove or modify the buyout from his contract.”스포츠토토
In particular, the newspaper explained, “Kim has expressed his intention to refuse to re-sign (with Napoli) as he is more than happy with the Premier League club’s offer he received after the World Cup.”
After joining Napoli from Turkkiye Fenerbahçe last summer for a reported fee of $200 million, Kim was ready for bigger waters, winning the best defender award in Serie A, one of the most defensive leagues in Europe, within a season. His club, Napoli, benefited from his performance, winning their first Serie A title in 33 years.
Now, Kim is hoping to use the buyout clause he signed with Napoli last summer to make a move to a bigger league like the Premier League. “We don’t know which club will take him, but it is certain that he will go to the Premier League,” said ‘La Repubblica’, adding, “A full-fledged offer will come from July 1 from a club that will pay a buyout amount of 58 million euros (about 804 billion won).”
As a result, there is no longer any question of Kim leaving Napoli. Recently, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis vowed to keep his championship protagonists, saying, “No one will leave unless we decide to sell,” but De Laurentiis is helpless when it comes to Kim Man-je, who has a buyout clause in his contract.
Kim returned to South Korea on February 6, bringing all of his belongings with him to Napoli, making it clear that he has no intention of returning to Italy.
The question is which club he will join. “Newcastle, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea want to cheat Manchester United for Kim Min-jae,” reported France’s Foot Mercato on December 12. Four clubs were mentioned as possible destinations for Kim Min-jae. Of these, only PSG is a French club, while the other three are Premier League clubs.
However, there are those who argue that United have a clear advantage. Ross Howard, a British freelance journalist who specializes in United news, wrote on social media on December 12, “Kim Min-jae is rejecting all offers from Napoli to renew his contract. He wants to go to Man Utd,” and that “all personal terms have been agreed verbally,” confirming that Man Utd had already reached an agreement with Kim in terms of salary and fringe benefits.
This means that Kim wants the prestige and privileges of Man Utd. Harwood believes that if United pay the buyout, his transfer will be finalized in early July.
Photo via Yonhap, Napoli SNS, XportsnewsDB