Liverpool have been linked with a move for an impressive Napoli defender and they could exploit a clause in his contract, but a move only makes sense on one condition.
Kim Min-Jae has been nothing short of a revelation since signing for Napoli last summer. Along with fellow new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the South Korean defender has revitalised what many felt was a good — but not great — Napoli side. They are top of the table, eight points clear of Milan, and Min-Jae has played a big role in that.
Signed from Fenerbahçe as a replacement for the Chelsea-bound Kalidou Koulibaly, Min-Jae arrived to low fanfare. Yet it took no time at all for the defender to win over the Napoletani, with his robust challenges, love for defending and difficulty being beaten by opposing forwards. Min-Jae already has a mural in the legendary Spanish quarter part of the city.
The 26-year-old’s impact in Serie A has been so good that he won player of the month in only his second month in the league. Forming a rock-solid partnership with Amir Rrahmani, Min-Jae has been so good for Napoli so quickly that many have forgotten all about Koulibaly already, no mean feat considering how good the Senegalese was for the club for eight years.
Min-Jae also produced an outstanding performance against Liverpool when the Reds travelled to Naples and suffered a 4-1 thumping. That display, and others since, of course, didn’t go unnoticed with clubs with bigger pockets than Napoli.
The report also states that it would take a figure between £45m ($53m/€50m) and £70m ($83m/€80m) to allow Min-Jae to leave the club after just a single season.
The clause is only valid for the first two weeks of July, something which is common in Italy (Lautaro Martinez had a similar clause in his contract at Inter before it was taken out when his contract was renegotiated).
Yet it remains to be seen if Napoli would be willing to let go of Min-Jae, and the player himself has said he is ‘disturbed’ by rumours surrounding him (via The Mail). But should a deal be too good to refuse, does it make sense for Liverpool to sign him?
Centre-backs aren’t exactly something Jürgen Klopp needs at the moment. The only way signing Min-Jae makes sense is if one of Joe Gomez or Joël Matip were to be sold in the summer. There would be little need for Klopp to add a fifth centre-back to his squad.
Of course, things can change in football almost instantly. It could be that one of Gomez and Matip decide to leave Anfield, and thus Klopp would be forced to look at the market for a defender.
Should it happen, then Min-Jae would be one of the best options around. Until the need for another defender at Liverpool arises, the Reds should definitely keep him on their radar.
