The future of monster Kim Min-jae (27, Naples) is unknown, but if he transfers, he is expected to leave his name in football history.
On the 17th (Korean time), Forbes of the United States said, “The buyout clause for Kim Min-jae, which is effective for 15 days from July, ranges from 55 million dollars (approximately 74 billion won) to 65 million dollars (approximately 87 billion won) depending on the club that wants to recruit him.” “This is the 10th most expensive transfer fee ever paid for a centre-back. It is similar to the transfer fee of Tottenham’s Christian Romero and Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez,” he said.
Interest in Kim Min-jae is getting hotter day by day. The recently hotly connected team is Manchester United. British media outlets such as The Sun and Court Offside borrowed a report from Italy’s Il Martino on the 15th and said, “Man Utd is about to recruit Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae has decided to join Man Utd with only the final details left.” However, Kim Min-jae’s side denied through Star News, “The transfer to Manchester United is not true. He does not need to rush.”
What is clear is that if Kim Min-jae moves the team, he will take a world-class transfer fee. It can be ranked in the top 10 all-time transfer fees in the world center back category at least. If you convert Kim Min-jae’s buyout amount of 87 billion won into pounds, it is 52 million pounds, which is an amount that surpasses Lisandro Martinez’s 51.6 million pounds (approximately 86.5 billion won), which is currently ranked 10th in all-time center back transfer fees. It is not much different from the transfer fee of 52.7 million pounds (approximately 88 billion won) of Ben White (Arsenal), who is ranked 9th in this category.
There is a possibility that the transfer fee will be higher as there is talk that Manchester United will recruit Kim Min-jae even after paying more than the buyout. For reference, the highest transfer fee ever for a defender is owned by Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire. When he 카지노사이트moved the team from Leicester City to Manchester United in 2019, he recorded a transfer fee of 78.3 million pounds (approximately 131 billion won). Ironically, Maguire is considered a strong candidate to leave the team if Kim Min-jae moves to Manchester United. Unlike the huge transfer fee, he was pushed out of the main competition because he only showed sluggish performance. In addition, Kim Min-jae is expected to exceed the transfer fee of Son Heung-min (Tottenham), the ‘national team captain’. When Son Heung-min moved the team from Leverkusen in Germany to Tottenham in 2015, he recorded a transfer fee of 21.5 million pounds (approximately 36 billion won).
“Man Utd is one of the clubs linked to Kim Min-jae,” Forbes said. I can give you,” he said positively.
This season, Kim Min-jae showed the best performance in Europe. He appeared in 33 league games and showed off his impregnable defense. Thanks to this, Napoli reached the top of Serie A 33 years after the 1989-1990 season, when club legend Diego Maradona played an active part. According to Whoscored.com, a European football statistics media, Kim Min-jae has the highest rating of 7.10 among Serie A center backs. Eurosport also praised “Kim Min-jae, Victor Osimen, and Hvica Kvarachhelia as the best recruits from Napoli general manager Cristiano Giuntoli.” Napoli also succeeded in reaching the quarter-finals of the European Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
In recognition of these performances, Kim Min-jae was also nominated for the 45-man Serie A Team of the Year for the 2022-2023 season. Kim Min-jae was included in a total of 13 defenders. Among them, there are 8 center backs in the same position as Kim Min-jae. Chris Smalling (AS Roma), Glaisong Bremer (Juventus), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), and Alessio Romanoli (Lazio) compete against top defenders in the league. The final Best 11 is selected through 50% fan voting and 50% media related voting. In another report, Forbes said, “Kim Min-jae has been compared to Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd legend center back) due to his playing style. is almost non-existent,” he praised.
Napoli is also looking for a replacement due to rumors of Kim Min-jae transfer. Giorgio Scalvini of Atalanta (Italy) is considered a representative scout candidate. The 20-year-old Italian player is a young prospect, but he is active as a starting member, appearing in 29 league games this season. His strength is that he is 194 cm tall and plays tough defense. Italy’s Tutomercatoweb predicted that “Naples are keeping an eye on Scalvini and have already started contact with Scalvini. Although it is still in the preparation stage, negotiations may materialize in the coming weeks.”
Another possible candidate is Greek centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is active in Stuttgart, Germany. He is young at 26 years old and led the team’s defense by playing 26 league games this season. According to Whoscored.com, a European football statistics media, Mavropanos has the highest rating of 7.01 on the team.
Kim Min-jae entered the European stage by transferring to the prestigious Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2021 after passing through K-League Jeonbuk Hyundai and China Super League. He was recognized for his outstanding performance and transferred to Napoli after one season. In the transfer market last summer, Kim Min-jae received attention from many teams, including Stade Rennes in France and FC Porto in Portugal. Kim Min-jae’s choice was Napoli, a prestigious Serie A player.
Even after wearing the Napoli uniform, Kim Min-jae’s value soared even more. He is considered one of the best defenders in Europe beyond Serie A. Forbes also praised, “Kim Min-jae is strong and excels at aerial balls. He is also good at intercepting the ball, but he has the passing ability to catch the ball from behind and build up.”