“There was a meeting” – Journalists reveal Manchester United held talks with defender’s clan

Before the World Cup had kicked off, there was already talk that Manchester United were interested in Kim Min-jae.

The towering centre-back arrived in Naples from Fenerbahçe in the summer to replace the departing Kalidou Koulibaly, and immediately impressed under Luciano Spalletti.

Following Manchester United’s early problems in defence, with Harry Maguire underperforming, it was said the Red Devils were keen on signing him, helped by the fact he has a release clause in his contract next summer.

It only lasts for 15 days, but it’s there, and now there are reports in Italy that the Red Devils have taken the first steps to try and get the signing done.

The latest comes from journalist Antonio Corrado, who spoke to Fuorigioco on Tele A, relayed by Area Napoli, helped out by Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Mimmo Malfitano.

He said: “I can tell you that there was a meeting between Kim and his meeting with a foreign club at the Paradiso Hotel in Naples during the week before the match against Udinese. I couldn’t find out the name of the club.

“Whoever gave me the news, told me they spoke in English, but couldn’t get the name of the club. It’s no coincidence that Napoli immediately took steps to renew the player’s contract and eliminate the release clause.”

That’s when Malfitano stepped in and simply said: “So I’ll tell you: the club in question was Manchester United.”

Now, whether Manchester United pursue this seriously going forward remains to be seen, but looking at the calendar, that meeting will have taken place in the early part of November, as Napoli played Udinese on November 12th, with the game finishing 3-2 in Kim Min-jae’s favour.