Only 11 months ago, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis wished Kim Min-jae a benvenuto on Twitter. Earlier that day, the South Korean signed a three year contract with Napoli, who activated the buyout clause to purchase Kim from Fenerbahçe.
Though highly-rated, many questioned whether the central defender could fill the shoes of club legend Kalidou Koulibaly, who at the time was expected to become Napoli’s next captain after the departure of Lorenzo Insigne. Instead, Koulibaly was sold to Chelsea for €38 million, more than double the €18 million purchase price for Kim.
Koulibaly left large shoes to fill, but Kim filled them well. After winning the EA Sports Player Of The Month award for September and the AIC MVP for October, Kim was named the Best Defender in Serie A, becoming the second Napoli player to win the award after Koulibaly. A key contributor to Napoli’s Scudetto-winning campaign, Kim has drawn significant interest from some Europe’s most elite clubs.
Buyout Clause
Kim’s contract with Napoli also included a buyout clause, which can only be activated between the 1st and 15th of July, and is only available to foreign (i.e. non-Italian) clubs. Kim commenced his mandatory basic military training on the 17th of June. The training is three weeks long, placing his return around the 7th of July. That would leave Kim about 8 days to sign a contract with a new club.
According to Italian media, the buyout ranges between €45 million and €65 million, depending on the purchasing club. Assuming 40% of Kim’s transfer fee from Fenerbahçe has already been amortized, consistent with Napoli’s tendency to frontload amortization, the Azzurri would record plusvalenza (capital gain) of €34-54 million.
At the moment, it appears Bayern Munich have overtaken Manchester United as the frontrunners in the race to sign the South Korea international. According to Sky Sport reporter Florian Plettenberg, Bayern would pay a release clause in the region of €50 million and sign Kim to a five-year contract at €10-12 million gross per season.
Potential Replacements
Napoli have been linked to a number of centre-backs to replace Kim. According to Italian media, Lens and Austria centre back Kevin Danso is Napoli’s preferred option. Alternatives include: David Hancko (Feyenoord); Kou Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach); Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart); Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina); Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta); Jurrien Timber (Ajax); and Pau Torres (Villareal).
