Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United have reportedly made a move to convince Kim Min-jae to join the Magpies and not Bayern Munich.
TEAMtalk have reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), who own Newcastle United, have made “a late approach” to Napoli central defender Kim Min-jae and have “made a big offer” to the South Korea international.
The defender, though, has turned down PIF’s advances and has made it clear that “he has no interest in signing for either Newcastle or moving to the Middle East”.
PIF want to sign Kim – who is rated very highly, with former Manchester United and South Korea star Park Ji-Sung telling TMW that he is “extraordinary” – for Newcastle or for one of the clubs they own in Saudi Arabia.
However, the 26-year-old, who won Serie A with Napoli last season, is keen on a move to Bayern and is about to complete the transfer to the Bundesliga champions, according to TEAMtalk.
Newcastle United were always unlikely to sign Kim Min-jae
In our opinion, Napoli defender Kim Min-jae was always unlikely to move to Newcastle United in the summer transfer window when he has the chance to move to Bayern Munich.
After all, Bayern are one of the biggest and most historic clubs in the world who regularly win the Bundesliga title and challenge for the UEFA Champions League.
True, Newcastle will play in the UEFA Champions League next season, but they are not regulars in the competition and are unlikely to win the Premier League title anytime soon.
While clubs in Saudi Arabia are offering big salaries, Kim is too good to leave major European leagues at the age of 26.
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