Manchester United’s alarming lack of clean sheets and the ease with which they tend to concede makes it pretty clear how much Ruben Amorim desperately needs defensive reinforcements.
On top of that he is set to lose Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans in the summer while Lisandro Martinez is out until next year and might be used in a different position upon his return.
Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven and Tyler Fredricson have impressed but they are all teenagers and it would be unfair to overburden them at this stage of their career.
Should money permit, the Red Devils could revisit a move for former target Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich with the Bavarians open to his departure for 40 million.
Centre-back reinforcements The Red Devils were among the frontrunners for his signature back when Erik ten Hag was in charge before the South Korean opted to join the Bundesliga giants instead. The Old Trafford side opted to sign Evans on a free instead.
The 28-year-old has not enjoyed the best of times in Munich, getting blamed for Bayern’s Champions League exits both last season as well as this time out.
So upset is the South Korea international that he has even deactivated his social media handles with CF Bayern Insider tipping United to come in for him.
“Kim Min-jae is a very sensitive guy. It may not seem that way from an outsiders perspective, but I can assure you that this is the case. He was incredibly down, as it was ultimately his fault that Bayern went out of the Champions League against Inter Milan.
“It wasnt exclusively his fault, of course, but, for context, its worth bearing in mind that Min-jae was also to blame for Bayerns failure to get past Real Madrid in the semi-finals last year. The South Korean turned off the comments on his socials.
Kim Min-jae again? “Last summer, he couldnt think of moving away from the club, even when, I heard, Manchester United knocked on the door. They were interested in signing Min-jae, so perhaps theyll come knocking again this summer.
“I also heard from United that they are not so confident in the signings theyve recently made from Bayern Munich! So, theyll have to think about whether its the best strategy for them. Kim Min-jae does have a lot of quality, but I think hes not been able to show this at Bayern, as he needs a defensive partner whos vocal and gives him instructions.”
Interestingly, reporter Christian Falk claims United are not too happy with their recent purchases from Bayern, which includes Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
Kim has kept 18 clean sheets in all competitions this term and at one point in time, was considered among the best defenders playing in Europe.
Whether they come back for the South Korean will depend on the eventual finances but United have much better options on the table than the Bayern ace. Saudi Arabia seems like his best bet at an exit at the moment.
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Ayantan Chowdhury Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
