According to Fabrizio Romano, Bayern Munich has entered the competition to recruit Kim Min-Jae from Napoli.
Kim Min-Jae's release clause is still in place after he declined Napoli's most recent contract offer, and it will go into effect on July 1 for two weeks. He will be able to switch teams for merely €50 million (£44 million) thanks to the clause, and Manchester United and Newcastle United are also intrigued.
But now Bayern Munich has entered the rivalry to sign Fabrizio Romano's designation as the "best center-back in the world."
Bayern Munich ‘look like favourites now’ – Fabrizio Romano
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “Kim Min-Jae – Man United are in the race but the deal is not done. If you see reports saying it’s a done deal or something is almost agreed, this is not the case. The reality, from what I’m told on Kim Min-Jae is Bayern are also in the mix.
“Bayern want him. This is a concrete possibility. They had some discussion on the player side, so Man United are still there, Newcastle are still there but also Bayern enter the race. He has a release clause in July so it’s about convincing the player because all clubs are aware of the clause. So keep an eye on Bayern."
“Bayern look like favourites now.”
Although Bayern appears to be the club to beat today, it was earlier thought that Erik ten Hag's Manchester United had the deal clinched. Newcastle received a namecheck and are still in the game.
It all depends on what each club can pay Kim Min-Jae since, as Romano pointed out, the cost won't be an issue because of the release clause.
The main question will be if Newcastle can make their fantastic selling points more compelling than two clubs with a strong track record of winning trophies, including Champions League football, St James' Park, the PIF project, and our incredible fans.
That argument won't really matter because clubs like Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Kim Min-Jae's current club, Napoli, all have access to the Champions League. Napoli also won the Scudetto last season.
The only acceptable excuse if Manchester United misses out on Kim Min Jae is if it's due to the takeover saga. Everyone has had enough with the Glazers saga, and they will be on the wrong side of the Old Trafford crowd if their games with United's sales adversely affect Erik Ten Hag's progress at building his team ahead of next season.
That said, the Red Devils recruitment team should be ready for a serious backlash from the fans, given the fact that there were no serious competitors for Kim Min Jae's signature as of last month and that Manchester United haven't yet learned from their past errors in the transfer market.