Manchester United have been given one more card in their favour in the race to sign Kim Min-Jae.
The Red Devils defeated Chelsea 4-1 in the 32nd round of the 2022-23 English Premier League (EPL) at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, at 4 a.m. (ET) on Saturday. With the win, third-placed United (72 points, 22 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses, 56 goals scored and 42 goals conceded) secured a place in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) for the 2023-24 season.
Both the hype and the outcome of the big match were bland. United took the lead in the sixth minute through a Casemiro goal. They held on despite a 29th-minute injury to Anthony, which forced Marcus Rashford to come on at short notice. Anthony Martial made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time. Despite Chelsea’s attacking changes, United did not concede. In the 28th minute of the second half, Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot (PK) to extend the lead.토토사이트
Rashford rattled the Chelsea net again five minutes after Bruno’s PK. Chelsea avoided defeat with a 44th-minute goal from Joao Felix. The result was a 4-1 win for United. With the win, the Red Devils took home a ticket to UCL and are back in the mix.
This summer, the club is preparing for a major reform and investment. The goal was to sell off surplus resources and bring in competitive players to build a team that could compete for titles in the league and in Europe. In order to get good players, they needed UCL tickets more than anything else. A lot of credit must go to coach Eric ten Haag, who won the English Football League Cup (EFL) trophy as well as a UCL ticket.
They could be ahead in the race to sign Kim Min-jae. United wanted Kim despite having Rafael Varane, Lissandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, and Eric Bailly. With no reliable centre-backs outside of Varane and Lissandro, and those two being quite injury prone, reinforcements were essential. They parted ways with Phil Jones early on and are preparing to sell the likes of Axel Thiangueb, Bai and Maguire to make room for Kim.
Other EPL teams have been linked with the player, including Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur. They can afford a buyout and offer a decent wage, but they don’t have a UCL ticket. His next destination after Napoli is not in line with his desire to play at UCL. United also didn’t have a UCL ticket before the game against Chelsea, but the win secured their place in the competition. United’s advantage in the recruitment battle just got stronger.
On the 25th, various media outlets, including the UK’s Sports Witness, quoted a report from Italy’s Corriere dell’Sport as saying, “Kim Min-jae is ready to fly to Manchester United when the transfer market opens this summer. Kim is expected to leave the club after an excellent season with Napoli in the Italian Serie A,” the report said.
Fabrizio Romano, a reputable journalist working for the UK’s The Guardian, also said, “Napoli failed to reach an agreement with Kim Min-jae to renew his contract. Man United are really interested in Kim Min-jae. They have been observing him since November. We haven’t reached an agreement yet, but we are in dialogue with the player’s side. Kim Min-jae is a priority target for United.”
Unless something changes, it looks like Kim will be joining United. Following Park Ji-Sung, we could see another Korean leaguer at Old Trafford.