Newcastle United could be set to activate the release clause of Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae according to Fabrizio Romano.
Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has tweeted that Newcastle and Manchester United are set to duel over Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae when his release clause becomes active in July.
The 26-year-old South Korean was brought in as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly who switched Napoli for Chelsea last summer, and given the contrasting fortunes of each player, it seems that Napoli got the better part of that deal.
Newcastle are now reportedly ahead in the race for Kim-Min Jae
Kim Min-Jae has made 35 appearances in Serie A for the champions, scoring two and assisting two goals along the way.
It was believed that Manchester United had pretty much got the deal sewn up, but now it looks like Newcastle have leapfrogged Erik ten-Hag‘s side into pole position.
According to Team Talk, Kim Min-Jae’s release clause comes into effect on 1st July and runs until 15th July. If a club comes in with a £43million bid in that time then Napoli must accept, then it comes down to which club can offer the best terms for the player.
Newcastle are also looking at Jean-Clair Todibo
Kim Min-Jae has been receiving praise all season as Napoli charged towards the Scudetto, helped by the goals of Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen who was also been linked with a move to the Premier League.
Newcastle are looking at centre-back options for next season with Dan Burn and Fabian Schar now both the wrong side of 30. The Magpies are also looking at Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice who would be the younger option, but could be more difficult to land given his lack of release clause, however it’s thought that a fee of £39million could be enough to tempt Nice to sell.
Both are fantastic options and I’d be more than happy with either, however signing Kim Min-Jae has the added bonus of annoying Manchester United.
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