'Here we go' - Man Utd officially MISS OUT on 'best defender in the world'

Tom Weber

• Updated: 4 Jul 2023 07:01 BST
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has dashed any last hopes Manchester United fans had of still being able to land Kim Min-jae.

Romano already gave his famous 'here we go' on the deal last week, and he has now revealed that the final details will be ironed out this week.

Kim is set to undergo his Bayern Munich medical in the coming days, perhaps already on Wednesday. The club will then officially trigger his €50 million release clause, meaning that Manchester United will have missed out on one of the best defenders in Europe. Indeed, former Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti dubbed the South Korean 'the best defender in the world' back in March.

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Kim, who arrived as Kalidou Koulibaly's replacement for just €18.1m last summer, was instrumental as Napoli marched to their first Scudetto in 33 years. His performances for the Italian champions earned him repeated links to Manchester United, but Bayern proved to be a more attractive option.

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For months, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the 26-year-old would end up at Old Trafford, but indecisiveness and other priorities ultimately mean that Erik ten Hag and company will miss out on one of football's biggest stars, who could have been had for a relative bargain.

Manchester United still haven't made a final decision on whether to keep or sell Harry Maguire, but if they do decide to move their captain on, they will definitely need to dip into the market for a new centre-back.

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Axel Disasi and Jean-Clair Todibo have at various times been linked with the Red Devils, but those rumours appear to have gone cold over the last week.

Perhaps Ten Hag has had a change of heart on Maguire given United's budget constraints; despite his limitations, he can still be a useful depth piece even if he won't like merely playing second fiddle.