‘Anything could happen’: £80m player is Ten Hag’s dream signing for ManUtd, he’s ready to leave – journalist

Manchester United may face a stumbling block in their pursuit of center-back Kim Min-Jae. With Erik ten Hag eager to swoop for the Napoli star by activating his release clause, the Azzurri have reportedly replied by postponing a new contract offer, perhaps throwing a wrench in the plans.

Kim started every Serie A game this season for Napoli, who won their first league title in almost 30 years. Ten Hag is apparently a key target for United, who are looking for defensive reinforcements.

Newcastle United is also interested, with suitors believing that the South Korean could be obtained for less than £50 million. According to The Telegraph, no formal bids have been submitted as of yet.

And, in response to the strong interest shown in their star defense, Napoli has offered him a new contract that would make his existing release clause useless.

If the contract offer is accepted, the Italian giants will be able to raise the asking price as much as they want, putting United in a difficult position. It remains to be seen whether their interest in Kim will be maintained, or whether this development will push the Red Devils to look for other choices.

There is currently no word on whether Kim would be interested in signing the new contract offered by Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. According to many reports, the center-back’s move to Old Trafford is just a matter of details, as many aspects have already been agreed upon behind the scenes.

Kim had never played professionally outside of Asia before joining Fenerbahce at the start of last season, after leaving Beijing Guoan. It just took one season in Turkey for Napoli to pay £15 million to bring him to Italy.

United appear to be making progress in their pursuit of defensive reinforcements, with L’Equipe reporting that Monaco player Axel Disasi is close to a deal. The 25-year-old is a complete French international who played every Ligue 1 game in 2022/23.

Many United fans are anxious that the club’s protracted takeover saga would have a negative influence on Ten Hag’s summer transfer ambitions. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani are still waiting for the Glazers to decide which of their acquisition bids was successful.

Sheikh Jassim’s proposal is reported to include substantial sums for recruitment and infrastructure investment, and he made a final offer earlier this week in an attempt to close the sale before the transfer market officially opens.