Possible departure of Giuntoli could help United bid for Kim Min-jae

Kim Min-jae [AFP/YONHAP]

Rumors that Kim Min-jae could be looking at a move to Manchester United this summer took another turn on Tuesday when Italian media reported that Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli could be moving to Juventus.

The possible departure of Giuntoli, the man credited with the signing of, among others, Kim, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, could weaken Napoli’s bargaining power in the fight to keep Kim this summer.

Kim joined Napoli in July last year to fill a gap left by Kalidou Koulibaly’s departure for Chelsea. Kim immediately fitted into the lineup, earning Serie A Player of the Month honors in September and going on to be a regular starter in the first Napoli squad to win a Serie A title in more than 30 years.

That single season has already made Kim the most successful Korean footballer ever to play in Serie A, and triggered an arms race this summer as top clubs fight to trigger Kim’s narrow release clause while Napoli look to shut that door for good.

Kim is believed to have a release clause that can be triggered between July 1 and July 15 this summer by an elite European club. If a club meets those conditions, it will have to offer somewhere between 50 and 60 million euros ($54 to 65 million) to activate the clause and will then be free to negotiate player rates with Kim directly.

All that theoretically within a 15-day window, and with Napoli frantically trying to outbid everybody else to get Kim to sign a more concrete contract with the club.

Manchester United have quickly emerged as the front runner, although a whole range of clubs have been linked to Kim, and have reportedly already begun talks to prepare a bid. Some reports go so far as to say that the club has tacit agreement on terms from Kim, although Kim’s camp deny that.

United are also said to be targeting star striker Osimhen in a move to acquire both players that would undoubtedly be a huge win for the English club, but would essentially decimate the Napoli squad.

If Giuntoli does leave, United might have a slightly easier battle on their hands. The Italian sporting director was famously ferocious — the story goes that he once locked Osimhen in a hotel room to get him to sign for Napoli over Liverpool — and his departure may weaken Napoli’s negotiating power.

But with no trades possible until the season ends and that release clause locked up until July, there is still plenty of time for Napoli to circle the horses and other clubs to enter the fray.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]