“Kim Minjae’s transfer? Not everything!!!”…Fake controversy
Famous Italian journalists questioned the transfer of Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) to Inter Milan.
British media ‘Cutoffside’ reported on the 24th (Korea Standard Time), “Reporter Fabrizio Romano made it clear that it is too early to speculate on the transfer of players such as Bayern Munich defensive duo Dayo Upamecano and Kim Min-jae.”
Last season, the news that Kim Min-jae, the Italian Serie A champion and the best defender, could return to Italy a year after moving to Bayern Munich was reported to 토토사이트, creating a big buzz.
“Inter Milan is considering whether to offer a loan to Kim Min-jae, who is losing his position in Munich,” Italian leading sports magazine La Gazeta delo Sport said on Monday. “Kim Min-jae, who went to Munich last summer with 50 million euros (71.5 billion won) from Napoli, is likely to be a target for Inter Milan in the next transfer window. It seems that a loan option is being discussed rather than an immediate offer.”
The future at Inter Milan is uncertain.
The newspaper also announced that Kim Min-jae, who also plays in Munich, could be a good defensive reinforcement option, considering that goalkeeper Jan Zommer and defender Benjamin Pavar played in Munich and played hard after coming from Inter Milan last summer.
Earlier on Tuesday, Italy’s Blasting News reported that Munich defender Kim Min-jae is likely to be hired. Inter Milan are planning to loan former Napoli defender Kim Min-jae. Chris Smalling and Constantinos Mavropanos are also keeping an eye on him.
The media continued, “The management of Inter Milan’s sports department plans to recruit new players to strengthen their defense capabilities next season. The name that will appear in the transfer window will be former Napoli defender Kim Min-jae. Inter Milan have investigated the possibility that Kim will be able to return to Italy on loan this summer.”
Inter Milan want a center back because Francesco Acerbi and Stefan Duffrey, who are currently playing as back-three players, have already passed their 30s and their contracts will be terminated in the summer of 2025. Notably, Acerbi has recently been at the center of controversy over alleged racism against Napoli defender Joao Jezus. His future at Inter Milan is uncertain.
Recently, Kim Min-jae failed to live up to expectations in Munich.
Acerbi used racist abuse against opposing defender João Jesús in the match between Inter Milan and Napoli, and his punishment is almost certain. In addition, the problem of Duffrey, who does not give certainty as before, is also emerging, and Inter Milan began to look for a sale to reinforce its defense.
“Lagazeta Delo Sport” has already reported the possibility of Kim Min-jae moving to Inter Milan once.
The newspaper said on the 21st, “Korea’s defender also received interest from Inter Milan in 2022. He has already received interest in Inter Milan for several years,” adding, “Recently, Kim Min-jae has not lived up to expectations in Munich.” Munich hired Kim Min-jae for 50 million euros a year ago, but now the possibility of loan is not ruled out in a similar way to bringing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea to Inter Milan.”
Kim Min-jae, who conquered the Turkiye Schiefer League in Fenerbahce in 2021, immediately attracted the attention of big European clubs. Among them, Napoli, who actively appealed, paid 18 million euros (about 25.8 billion won) for a buyout and succeeded in recruiting Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae, who was selected as a replacement for Napoli legend Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), who left for Chelsea, performed all-time in Serie A, one of the big leagues in Europe.
He was responsible for Napoli’s defense.
Manager Luciano Spalletti elevated the Napoli players’ line by banking on Kim Min-jae, who is armed with tremendous speed, physicality, and excellent footwork. As a result, dynamic soccer was implemented that led to quite aggressive and fast transitions. For Napoli, attacks centered on Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) and Hvicha Kvaratshelia (Georgia) shone and it was the first time in 33 years that the team won a scudetto.
At that time, Kim Min-jae appeared in 45 games in all tournaments during the 2022-2023 season and played a whopping 3,878 minutes, taking strong responsibility for Napoli’s defense.
Kim appeared in 35 league matches, of which he played 30 full-time. Being a substitute for his predecessor Kalidou Koulibaly, Kim conquered the Italian stage in a year by perfectly erasing the void. Even powerful strikers were powerless in front of Kim.
Kim Min-jae, who blocked top-class strikers in the league, was named the best defender of the league in the Italian league, the home of defensive soccer, and was named the team of the year along with teammates Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kvartzhelia and Victor Osimhen. At the Ballon d’Or award ceremony, which is given to the world’s best player, Kim ranked 22nd out of 30 candidates, marking the highest among defenders.
For the first time since his professional debut, he has been on the bench for three consecutive games.
Thanks to his stellar performance in Napoli, Kim moved to Munich last summer and was a regular starting member up until the first half of the 2023-24 season, having been included in the starting lineup in every game. However, he remained in the bench for the third consecutive game for the first time since his debut as a professional, losing ground in the competition for selection in the second half of the year.
Munich boldly excluded Kim Min-jae and started Eric Dier and Matthijs Diricht after losing three consecutive games in the league and the UEFA Champions League in February. When Kim Min-jae succeeded in escaping consecutive losses with a 2-1 home win over RB Leipzig in the league’s 23rd round, which went down to the bench, Tuchel decided not to change the center-back combination.
In the end, Kim Min-jae started only one game in the last five games and started the remaining four games on the bench. While Kim Min-jae is on the bench, Munich has four wins and one draw in five games, making it difficult for Kim Min-jae to get a chance to play.
Inter Milan showed great interest as Kim Min-jae, who was in charge of Munich’s defense with French center back Dayo Upamecano during the first half, struggled in the main competition.