As the season of ‘Iron Wall’ Kim Min-jae (27, Napoli) draws to a close, it seems that the ‘Kim Min-jae=Manchester United’ formula has already been established amongst those involved.

“Sources familiar with the Napoli situation say that ‘it is taken for granted that Kim will become a Manchester United player,'” English outlet Football365 reported on 4 April, citing Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport.

Kim finished the 2022-23 season in the Italian Serie A with Napoli. Napoli still had one game left to play (against Sampdoria on the 5th), but Kim was unable to play in the final game due to accumulating cautions in previous matches.안전놀이터

Now that his season is effectively over, he is being pursued by a number of clubs, most notably Manchester United, who have been in constant contact with him. Transfer rumours have been circulating since mid-May. There are even stories that they have agreed on specific contract terms, such as the amount of money and the length of the contract. Although the player’s representatives have stated that “the transfer to Man Utd is not true”, the season is coming to a close and we should see something concrete soon.

As has been widely reported, Kim can negotiate a transfer with a foreign club without Napoli’s consent if he pays a €50 million buy-out clause from 1 July. However, “an official announcement from United could come before that period,” the outlet said.

There are even suggestions that the club is already preparing for a move. British outlet The Sun claimed that “United have reportedly already found a house for Kim to live in England”. If this is true, it’s not unreasonable to expect officials to confirm the move.

Napoli, meanwhile, have effectively given up. “Napoli have given up on the idea that Manchester United will sign Kim,” said the Manchester Evening News.

There is a reason why United want Kim so badly. The Red Devils are targeting Kim because of injuries to first-choice centre-backs Rafael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, as well as the declining form of back-ups Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. It’s also worth noting that Kim has favoured the English Premier League (EPL), where senior Park Ji-Sung played.

Meanwhile, Kim Min-jae was named the league’s best defender for the 2022-2023 season by the Serie A secretariat on the 2nd. The secretariat said, “Kim Min-jae is the best defender of the 2022-2023 season. A member of the league championship and the soon-to-be-announced league best team. An impressive debut. Congratulations.”