Manchester United currently look the frontrunners to seal the transfer of Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae this summer, according to Ben Jacobs in his column for CaughtOffside.
The South Korea international has also attracted interest from Liverpool and Tottenham, according to the journalist, but Man Utd look in a strong position to win the race for his signature.
Jacobs went on to explain that the key thing for Kim will be starting games on a regular basis, which might not be guaranteed for him at Old Trafford due to the presence of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
Still, Kim is also surely good enough to fight for his place, so might do well to give it a go with the Red Devils as they look to be on their way back to their best under the guidance of Erik ten Hag.
Liverpool and Spurs, by contrast, have endured difficult seasons and United have the bonus of almost certainly being able to offer Champions League football.
“Manchester United are huge admirers of Napoli’s Kim Min-jae. They have been scouting him for much of the season and exploring a deal since the World Cup break,” Jacobs wrote.
“But this one is not a done deal yet, and Kim has been pretty vocal shouting down speculation of a Premier League move, albeit before Napoli won the Scudetto. I would term the transfer a realistic possibility. Spurs and Liverpool have looked at Kim as well.”
He added: “Kim also turns 27 in November and will want to ensure if he moves he’ll start regularly. That’s the only issue for Manchester United. Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, if fit, could still be hard to displace. But Kim’s form is so strong that he’ll fancy his chances. He’s known as ‘The Monster’ for a reason.
“Kim has a release clause of €50m, but it’s only active between 1-15 July. That price is reasonable, albeit clubs will likely want to negotiate a different payment structure.
“Manchester United would love to move quickly and agree something before the clause is active to stop anyone else triggering it. But as of now nothing is done, even though it is probably fair to term Manchester United frontrunners.”