Man United could offer escape rope for £40m ‘monster’ blamed for UCL exit: “Turned off comments on social media” | OneFootball

Manchester United could reignite their interest in Kim Min-jae who is enduring miserable times at Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old rose to the scene during his time at Fenerbahce, before consolidating his status in his solitary campaign at Napoli in 2022/23, leading the Partenopei towards their first Scudetto title in 33 years, and earning himself the Serie A Best Defender Award in the process.

The centre-back’s exploits were recognised by Bayern who splashed €50 million to trigger his release clause. However, ‘The Korean Monster’ hasn’t been able to endear himself to the Allianz Arena crowds.

As Christian Falk explains, Kim was blamed for last season’s Champions League exit against Real Madrid, and unfortunately for the defender, history has repeated itself this term, as he emerged as the scapegoat in the Bavarians’ elimination at the hands of Inter Milan last week.

“Kim Min-jae is a very sensitive guy. It may not seem that way from an outsider’s perspective, but I can assure you that this is the case,” wrote the renowned German journalist in his latest column for CF Bayern Insider.

“He was incredibly down, as it was ultimately his fault that Bayern went out of the Champions League against Inter Milan. It wasn’t exclusively his fault, of course, but, for context, it’s worth bearing in mind that Min-jae was also to blame for Bayern’s failure to get past Real Madrid in the semi-finals last year.

The South Korean turned off the comments on his socials, as he couldn’t bear to keep reading what the fans were writing about him. It shows his frame of mind at the moment.

Therefore, Falk believes this could be the golden opportunity for Man Utd to resume their pursuit of the disappointed defender after falling short last term.

“Last summer, he couldn’t think of moving away from the club, even when, I heard, Manchester United knocked on the door. They were interested in signing Min-jae, so perhaps they’ll come knocking again this summer.”

Man United to consider Kim Min-jae move?

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, the Bundesliga insider reveals that United might be reluctant to sign another Bayern star, as they aren’t entirely pleased with their recent purchases from Bavarian giants (Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui).

“I also heard from United that they are not so confident in the signings they’ve recently made from Bayern Munich! So, they’ll have to think about whether it’s the best strategy for them. Kim Min-jae does have a lot of quality, but I think he’s not been able to show this at Bayern, as he needs a defensive partner who’s vocal and gives him instructions.

“I heard Bayern would be prepared to sell the 28-year-old if they get an offer of between €40m-50m.”

United could do with a new defender, especially with Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof leaving the club, and Lisandro Martinez struggling with an ACL injury.

However, a ‘sensitive’ and mentally-torn defender in a dysfunctional side like United could well be a recipe for disaster, so INEOS may want to avoid this one.