Kim Min-jae’s move to Bayern Munich is about to be finalized.
Fabrizio Romano, a journalist who works for The Guardian in the UK and is known as an expert on the European transfer market, wrote on his personal social media account on June 6 (KST), “Kim Min-jae will complete his second medical test today. Munich will then trigger his buyout clause from Napoli. This process is the last step before the transfer becomes official,” and reported that the transfer is indeed coming to a close.
German Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, who is very familiar with Munich’s inside information, also reported on June 6 that “Kim will complete his medical in South Korea. The Munich medical team arrived in South Korea a few hours ago and is on site. Munich will trigger the €50 million (approx. 708 million won) buyout in the next few days. The contract runs until June 2028, with an annual salary of around 12 million euros (around 17 billion won),” said Plettenberg, adding that Munich will soon finalize the signing of Kim Min-jae. Plettenberg predicted that an official announcement could come as early as this week.
Germany’s Bild also reported, “A week ago in Lisbon, Kim Min-jae’s side and the Munich board met and agreed on a five-year contract. Munich has virtually secured Kim Min-jae. It is difficult for other clubs to approach. The negotiations for Kim were led by Munich president Marco Neppe. Nepe traveled to Lisbon to negotiate with Kim. 해외안전놀이터 추천 Thomas Tuchel was also in contact with the player. “He is a dream defender for Tuchel,” he added.
“He became an Italian champion with Napoli and won two K League 1 titles with Jeonbuk Hyundai. He is Munich’s third signing of the summer after Konrad Reimer and Rafael Guerreiro,” he said, adding that an announcement will be made soon.
There’s one reason why Munich are so aggressive in their pursuit of Kim Min-jae. It’s because they need him. The German ‘Kicker’, one of the most authoritative publications in the Bundesliga, even highlighted Kim’s arrival.
The publication said, “Kim rose to prominence at Napoli and played a pivotal role in the team’s first Scudetto since 1990. Italian Serie A clubs say Kim’s award as defender of the season is a ‘no-brainer’. Former Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said, “Kim Min-jae is the best center back in the world,” and showed high expectations.
“He is nicknamed ‘the monster’ in his home country for a reason. He never compromises on competition. He has some similarities to Luca Hernandez, but he also has a great ability to read the game. In 2022-23, he had the most forward passes in Europe’s top five leagues and the third highest number of passes. That was seven places higher than Joshua Kimmich,” he said, praising Kim’s ability to compete and build up.
His current status is that of a world-class defender. The 2022-23 season proved it. In just his first season in the Italian Serie A, Kim has perfected everything he can do as a defender.
He’s not going to replace Kalidou Koulibaly.