Bidding war erupts between Liverpool and Man Utd

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 29 Mar 2023 18:03 BST
• 3 min read

A bidding war has erupted between Liverpool and Manchester United for Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae.

Both teams want to sign the South Korea star this summer as they plan to strengthen their centre back areas.

Manchester United are prepared to pay the €50 million release clause in Kim’s contract that is only active for a short period in July. They will consider going higher, though.

Who is Kim Min-Jae? The €50m Napoli ‘monster’ wanted by Man Utd

But Liverpool are looking to up the ante and, according to RAI Sport, are ready to make a bid as high as €68m.

They believe this will be enough to beat Man United to the signing of the 26-year-old.

Min-Jae signed for Napoli from Fenerbahce for €18 million last summer as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, who left after eight years to join Chelsea.

Kim has been a revelation for table-topping Napoli so far, with the Partenopei barely missing Koulibaly, who in turn has struggled at Chelsea.

Standing at 6ft 4in, Kim is a physically imposing and aggressive defender who is excellent in the air and brave in the tackle.

His performances saw him named Serie A Player of the Month for September and he has arguably been the best defender in the league and one of the best in Europe this season.

His manager Luciano Spalletti even recently labelled Min-Jae as “the best defender in the world”.

Kim has a low minimum fee release clause in his contract which makes him even more attractive to suitors.

Kim Min-Jae's release clause

“The clause is only valid for foreign clubs and it’s accessible in a window in July, for just 15 days,” Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli said in November of the clause.

“Is the clause €50m? It’s variable, it depends on the revenues of the potential buyer. It’s all theoretical given that we are already thinking about changing these terms.”

Napoli and Kim have been flying in 2022-23 and are 19 points clear at the top of Serie A. They are also in the quarter-finals of the Champions League where they will play AC Milan.