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Manchester City are ahead of rivals Manchester United in the race for Napoli defender Kim Min-jae this summer.

That’s according to agent Vincenzo Morabito, who says it is actually Pep Guardiola and co who are leading the race for the South Korean star.

Kim has been one of the key players in Napoli’s success this season, filling the void left behind by Kalidou Koulibaly and establishing himself as one of the best central defenders in Europe.

He’s subsequently been linked with all of the big clubs in Europe, including Manchester City, whose interest was said to be scaring the Italian champions.

Morabito now says they are out in front in terms of the race for his signature, despite claims others are reportedly pushing for him.

“The fans shouldn’t get angry, it’s normal that we talk about the transfer market now. Kim? I think Manchester City is more likely than United,” he told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli, relayed by Calcio Napoli 24.

Now, that’s an interesting take from Morabito, as it comes alongside a report from Il Mattino today that also has Manchester City firmly in the race for the defender.

That explained how there was a meeting between Aurelio de Laurentiis and manager Luciano Spalletti today to discuss the squad and potential departures this summer.

In terms of Kim, they state that it is a ‘concrete hypothesis’ he could leave this summer but, according to their information, it was United and not Manchester City out in front. The latter were very much in the picture, however.

They will need to move quickly as his release clause, one of the reasons he has so much interest, is only active from July 1st to July 15th.

Of course, that’s not much of a problem for a club with money to burn like Manchester City, but it could mean there is a real acceleration for Kim in the coming weeks.