Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has rebounded in form in an England shirt, but this might not be sufficient for the center-back to salvage his Old Trafford career, with the club reportedly gazing wishfully at Napoli defender Kim Min-jae.
Maguire has refreshingly shaped up as one of his country’s more impressive performers at the World Cup as he assisted his team to top their group and effectively set up a last-16 clash with Senegal. This is a significant turnaround for a much-beleaguered player whose struggles at club level saw him lose his starting place under Erik ten Hag.
Manchester United’s Dutch gaffer Ten Hag has already made his stance clear by signing Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez over the summer and pairing him with former Real Madrid dynamo Raphael Varane. And if South Korea’s Kim also joins, this could well be another statement that does not augur well for Maguire’s future with the Manchester club.
United’s alleged interest in Kim comes in the wake of an impressive season at both club and international level for the 26-year-old. Besides helping Napoli race to the top of the Serie A table way ahead of their rivals, the stalwart defender also followed this up by playing an integral role in helping South Korea book a World Cup last-16 meeting with Brazil.
Having only joined Napoli over the summer, The former Fenerbahce man – with a €45million (£38m) release clause, according to reports in Italy – arrived after Kalidou Koulibaly left for Chelsea, but was quick to make his presence felt at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli sit eight points clear in Serie A after 15 games and also topped their Champions League group ahead of Liverpool. Kim has played 20 games for Luciano Spalletti’s team, netting twice.