Juventus Eyeing Kim Min-jae Transfer Amidst Transfer Rumors and Defensive Revamp

[골닷컴] Reporter Kang Dong-hoon = Kim Min-jae (27), whose position has deteriorated since he has been pushed out of the competition for the starting role this year, and his has even lost the trust of fans after committing a series of fatal mistakes that led to a conceded goal in the recent Champions League (UCL) semi-final match against Real Madrid · Bayern Munich) transfer rumors were raised again. After Manchester United and Internazionale Milan (Inter), he was linked with Juventus.

According to Italian media La Repubblica on the 1st (Korean time), Juventus is looking to hire Kim Min-jae and is currently monitoring Kim Min-jae’s situation. In particular, it is known that Juventus general manager Cristiano Giuntoli (52, Italy), who led the recruitment of Kim Min-jae during his time in Naples, is seriously considering the recruitment of Kim Min-jae and working on.

Of course, Juventus is not only interested in Kim Min-jae. Juventus, who intend to strengthen the center back, also have Ricardo Calafiori (21, Bologna), Lucas Martinez Quarta (27, Fiorentina), Mario Hermoso (28, Atletico Madrid), and Maxence Lacroix (24, Wolfsburg) on a recruitment list i see it. Calafiori is said to be of particular interest.

Before that, Minjae Kim left Naples last summer and moved to Bayern Munich. The transfer fee was 50 million euros (about 73.7 billion won), the purchase (the minimum transfer rate allowed), and a five-year long-term contract was signed. “I’m really looking forward to it,” said Kim Min-jae, “I will continue to develop at Bayern Munich.” “I want to play as many games and win as many titles as possible,” he said when he joined the team.

Kim Min-jae immediately established himself as a center back when he moved. Even when his teammates, including Dayot Upamecano (25, France) and Matthijs de Ligt (24, Netherlands), went out alternately due to injuries, he protected the back unscathed as an ‘iron man’. In fact, in the first half of this season (August to December), he played 22 games (21 as a starter) in all competitions, including German Bundesliga and UCL.

However, Kim Min-jae’s situation has changed this year. After being selected for the national football team for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in January and returning, he was pushed out of the competition for the place start Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel (50, Germany) fired Kim Min-jae due to poor performance and hired Eric Dier (30, England), who joined De Ligt during the winter transfer window. Since then, as performance has improved, both players have been named starters.

Kim Min-jae, who was eventually dismissed as the ‘3rd choice’, was linked with Manchester United and Inter, and transfer rumors continued. However, he announced that he would choose to stay rather than move this summer. His plan is to compete for the starting position again when a new coach comes in next season. At the same time, the transfer rumors have subsided, but due to a fatal mistake in the recent UCL semi-final match against Real Madrid, transfer rumors have resurfaced.

This is not the first time that Kim Min-jae has received attention from Juventus. When he announced that he would leave Fenerbahce in 2022 and take on a new challenge, he was linked with Juventus. However, it did not lead to concrete talks, and Kim Min-jae eventually moved to Naples. Since then, he has been instrumental in Napoli winning Italy’s Serie A for the first time in 33 years in the last two seasons, and was recognized for his performance by winning the Player of the Year award. protection of the Year.

It seems that Juventus is in pursuit of the recruitment of Kim Min-jae, because he has achieved great success in Serie A. In particular, while we are parting with Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri (56, Italy) next season and hiring a new Bologna coach, Thiago Motta (41, Italy), the plan is to start a major reconstruction project and hire Kim Min-jae to strengthen the defensive line.