Man Utd in advanced talks to sign ‘best defender in the world’

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 16 May 2023 08:09 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are in advanced talks to sign Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae.

That is according to Il Mattino, which reports that the South Korean has agreed to sign for the English giants.

The talks are now at an advanced stage with only minor details separating the parties from a total agreement.

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

Kim has a minimum fee release clause in his contract of around €50 million, valid for the first two weeks in July, which makes Napoli powerless to let him go.

Attempts by Napoli to give Kim a new contract and remove the clause have proved fruitless.

Fabrizio Romano, though, reports that there is no agreement yet between Kim and Man Utd. He does, however, confirm that the centre back has been on Man Utd’s shortlist since December.

Min-Jae has been an absolute revelation since joining Napoli from Fenerbahce for €18m last summer, helping the club to their first Scudetto in 33 years.

He was signed as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, who left after eight years to join Chelsea, but Kim has been magnificent at the heart of Napoli’s defence.

This has led to interest from Europe’s biggest clubs, with Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid all linked to the 26-year-old.

According to Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti, Kim is now the best in the world in his role.

“Kim does at least 20 incredible things per game, for me he truly is the best centre-back in the world,” Spalletti said after Napoli’s 2-0 win over Atalanta in March.

The giant centre back has been capped 49 times by South Korea.