According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are leading the race to sign Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae during the summer transfer window.
The South Korean has been a fantastic signing for the Serie A outfit. He joined them from Fenerbahce last summer and has played a fundamental role in their hugely successful season.
There is currently a £43 million foreign release clause in his contract that can be triggered in July and speaking to Teamtalk, Jacobs has said that Liverpool and Spurs are favourites to sign him.
While Manchester United also hold an interest in Min-jae, Jacobs believes the club are in a difficult position as the 26-year-old would not accept a back-up role behind Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.
He said: “Manchester United are in a difficult position with that type of player because he sees himself as a starting centre-back and they’ve obviously got Martinez and Varane there. But there’s other teams that are looking to drop somebody straight into their starting lineup.”
“Tottenham are another club that have scouted the player and they would be looking to bring in a starting centre-back, as with Liverpool as well. And I think that that would give those two clubs a slight advantage over Manchester United.”
Top-class
Min-jae has been hugely consistent for Napoli in his debut season. He has been part of a defence that has conceded just 16 goals in Serie A. The club are currently 18 points clear at the top of the table.
Napoli will be determined to keep him by handing a new contract without any buy-out clause but for now, they are facing the prospect of losing him to a foreign club during the summer transfer window.
As Jacobs said, Min-jae will not want to sign for United without a guaranteed starting spot and this opens the door for Liverpool or Spurs to land him if he wishes to move to the English top-flight.
Jurgen Klopp’s side could have the edge over Spurs based on their recent silverware success. The Merseyside giants have won several trophies in the domestic and European competitions.
On the contrary, Spurs have not won any kind of silverware in 15 seasons. Hence, Liverpool would be the most attractive destination for Min-jae, who is a perfect fit for the Premier League.
The South Korean has a strong physique and excellent distribution qualities. He also likes to make tackles as well as clear his lines. Min-jae would be ideally suited for English football.
