Newcastle aim to ‘hijack Manchester United’s pursuit of Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae’
Newcastle are looking to “hijack Manchester United’s pursuit of £56million Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae” despite reports that his move to Old Trafford is “virtually complete”.
- Newcastle have expressed interest in signing Kim Min-Jae this summer
- However, Newcastle have to defend themselves against interest from Manchester United
- The defender caught Howe’s attention after helping Napoli win the Serie A title
Newcastle have expressed interest in signing Kim Min-Jae after Manchester United identified the Napoli defender as one of their key targets for the summer transfer window.
United manager Erik ten Hag wants to strengthen his defensive line ahead of the 2023-2024 season and has named the South Korea international as one of his main targets.
However, Ten Hag will have to fend off interest from Newcastle as the Magpies look to strengthen their back line after securing Champions League football.
Accordingly talkSPORTEddie Howe has identified Kim as the defender he wants to sign during the summer transfer window.
The South Korea international has a release clause in his contract valid until the first half of July – which Howe is trying to activate.
Newcastle expressed interest in signing Kim Min-Jae after United identified him as a target
The South Korea international has a release clause in his contract that is valid until the first half of July
Erik ten Hag (left) and Eddie Howe (right) will battle to sign the defender
Kim caught Howe’s attention after helping Napoli win their Serie A title for the first time since 1990, despite being in his debut season with the club.
However, Howe faces an uphill battle to sign Kim as “the transfer to Premier League giants Manchester United is all but complete”.
According to a report by The sunManchester United have found a house for Min-Jae to live in after the deal.
They have also stated that Kim will play a key role at the club as four defenders are expected to move from United this summer.
The report also states that Min-Jae will definitely leave Napoli at the end of the season, regardless of Napoli’s attempts to keep him.
Kim made 33 top-flight appearances in Italy and spurred them on with strong performances in their promising Champions League season.
Kim only joined Napoli at the start of the season after securing a three-year deal with an option for the club to extend the deal for a further two years.
Napoli paid 16 million pounds (18.5 million euros) for Kim to bring him to Campania from Turkish Super Lig club Fenerbache as the latter wanted to replace Kalidou Koulibaly.
As a result, the Red Devils would have to pay the defender’s release clause, which the Serie A club have reportedly set at £56m