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Manchester United are in the midst of trying to acquire as many as three centre-backs as INEOS look to revamp the backline after the terrible defensive displays last season.
The race has been far from smooth thus far, with none of the approaches working out. The Red Devils have already seen two bids for Jarrad Branthwaite get rejected by Everton
The Toffees are reportedly holding out for £70 million but the Old Trafford side are unlikely to pay that much but an improved third bid is in the pipeline.
The club has also seen a £42 million bid for French sensation Leny Yoro accepted by Lille but the player remains adamant on joining Real Madrid. The only problem is that Los Blancos will not bid as much and want him on a free next summer.
CB search continues
The French club are trying to force Yoro to head to The Theatre of Dreams instead. It remains a complicated race thus far with fierce rivals Liverpool also keeping a close watch.
Tageszeitung have now revealed that the 20-time English league champions were also looking at a potential deal for Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae but the player turned them down in favour of remaining at Bavaria.
The South Korean was a target last summer as well but due to the club’s inability to move on Harry Maguire, they missed their shot and the centre-back moved to the Bundesliga giants instead.
It was a mixed debut campaign for the former Napoli star in Munich and with new manager Vincent Kompany keen on recruiting more centre-backs like Jonathan Tah while they have already signed Hiroki Ito.
That meant the futures of several defenders were up in the air including that of the 27-year-old. But now, Bayern have decided to keep the South Korea international and United have moved on to his club teammate Matthijs de Ligt, someone Erik ten Hag knows well from their time at Ajax.
“As the tz learned, clubs from Saudi Arabia have recently been courting Kim. Among others, there were inquiries from Al-Nassr, where superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo (39) and Sadio Mané (32) now play, and Saudi Pro League newcomer Al-Qadisiyah, which snapped up Real Madrid captain and Spanish defender Nacho Fernández (34) a few days ago.
Kim Min-jae will not leave
“At both clubs, Kim could earn significantly more than at FC Bayern. But the South Korean immediately turned down the Saudis. A move to the desert is currently out of the question.
“According to tz information, Premier League club Manchester United had him on the list, but is now working specifically on a transfer of Kim’s Bayern colleague Matthijs de Ligt. Atlético Madrid also has him on the list. As tz learned , the South Korean is also highly rated by Juventus Turin. However, a transfer plays no role in Kim’s plans.”
United have reportedly agreed on personal terms with the Netherlands international and the long-term target seems to be set for a reunion with his former coach at Old Trafford.
As for Kim, it looks like United are set to miss out again as the defender is set to stay at the Allianz Arena where he will hope to impress the new boss.
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