May 09, (THEWILL) – Italian champions, Napoli, may have to part ways with their star defender, Kim Min-Jae, this summer, despite their previous insistence on keeping him at the club.
The South Korean international has established himself as one of the world’s top centre-backs since joining Serie A from Fenerbahce last year, attracting interest from Manchester United, Liverpool, and other prominent clubs. While Napoli had hoped to extend his contract, they would find it difficult to reject bids exceeding €60m amid the growing interest.
Although Kim’s current deal includes a release clause of approximately €45m, sources monitored by THEWILL suggest that the clause may only be active for the first two weeks of the summer transfer window. Financial Fair Play regulations make it challenging for any club to make an upfront payment of that magnitude.
Man Utd, who are currently in search of a right-footed centre-back, had representatives present at Napoli’s recent 1-0 victory over Fiorentina. Other potential targets for the club include Jurrien Timber from Ajax and Antonio Silva from Benfica. Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham also attended the Stadio Diego Maradona, expressing long-standing interest in Kim. Spurs notably pursued him when he was with Beijing Guoan in 2020.
Paris Saint-Germain have been keeping tabs on Kim as well, but their recent acquisition of Milan Skriniar on a free transfer from Inter means another centre-back is not a priority for them at the moment.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
