Chelsea are ‘in talks’ over a shock deal for Bayern Munich flop Kim Min-jae, according to a report.
The South Korea international has endured a very surprising fall from grace over the past two years. In 2023, Kim marshalled Napoli’s backline as they won their first Scudetto in 33 years.
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The centre-back, who used to be nicknamed ‘The Monster,’ was regarded as one of Europe’s top defenders at the time, and it was viewed as a real coup when Bayern managed to beat Man Utd to his signature.
The €50 million that the Bundesliga giants paid when they triggered his release clause was considered a genuine bargain. However, two years on, the 28-year-old is less of a defensive monster and more of a monstrous flop.
On his day, Kim is still a very good Bundesliga defender, but generally speaking, he has been a shadow of his former self. He looks a completely different player to the one who was considered Asia’s best when he starred at Napoli, Fenerbahce, Beijing Guoan and even at Jeonbuk in his youth.
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Chelsea open Kim talks
Last season, Kim openly admitted that his confidence had taken a major hit when he was dropped by Thomas Tuchel, and it seems that he has yet to fully recover despite being a regular under Vincent Kompany.
Kim has made an uncharacteristic number of individual mistakes since joining Bayern, although in his defence, he has had to play with a minor injury in recent weeks due to Bayern’s shortage of defensive options.
Still, it is unsurprising that Sky Germany revealed earlier this week that the centre-back is far from ‘untouchable’ this summer. Bayern are not actively looking to sell, but they will consider offers for the 28-year-old.
Footmercato now reports that the first enquiries have already arrived, with Chelsea and Newcastle holding talks with the player’s representatives.
Kim is said to be ‘very open’ to a new challenge outside of Germany, although a move to Chelsea would come as a surprise given his age. He is not the kind of player the Blues have been targeting in recent years.
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