Newcastle now told race for £42m transfer target is over

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Star defender Kim min-Jae will seemingly have his pick of clubs this summer.

After starring for Napoli in their first Serie A title win for over thirty years, the South Korean international has been linked with Newcastle and Manchester United.

Believed to have a release clause of £42m active in the month of July, the two Premier League heavyweights are touted as potential landing spots.

Indeed, only days ago, reports suggested the Magpies were considering hijacking Man United’s move for the player, having reportedly held talks with Kim’s agents at St James’ Park some time ago.

Still, Old Trafford may yet be his destination.

Kim min-Jae’s move to Manchester United almost done

Enrico Fedele is a prominent figure in Italian media following his work as a sporting director and he appeared to suggest the South Korean was in fact bound for Old Trafford.

Even despite their links with Monaco defender Axel Disasi, Fedele believes Kim’s switch is all but done.

“Does Axel Disasi’s imminent move to Manchester United blow up Kim Min-jae’s move to the Red Devils?,” he told Marte Sport Live (via Arena Napoli).

“The South Korean has already left, he’s done everything with the English, don’t worry. At worst, they’ll buy two defenders.”

A dose of reality for Newcastle

Were that to indeed be the case, it would be an early dose of reality in the transfer market.

Naturally, Newcastle are being linked with all manner of moves. Back in the Champions League and with ambitious plans to challenge for trophies, there is seemingly no limit for the club long-term.

In the here and now, however, that might be different.

Though not at all a criticism, there have been reports suggesting the club will not break their wage structure in one fell swoop.

Going up against clubs like Manchester United, for now at least, Newcastle are always going to struggle to match their spending power on wages until that policy changes.

That’s not to say Newcastle are making a mistake by making the increase in wage spending a more gradual process but it is a reminder of just how early we are into the new PIF era.