With just over three weeks to go until Manchester United's opening friendly, the club faces a race against time to get new faces through the door before the start of pre-season.
United, who discovered last week that they will face Wolves on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign, are scheduled to take on Leeds United in Oslo on July 12 in the first of seven friendlies. Like every manager up and down the country, manager Erik ten Hag will be determined to get the bulk of his transfer business done before the big kick-off on August 14 and have a settled squad in place. As ever, though, that is easier said than done.
In fact, it's unlikely for Ten Hag's wish to be granted this summer because of the ongoing takeover situation and the knock-on uncertainty. The Dutchman has a list of positions he wants to strengthen and a list of players he would like to add. But without a guaranteed transfer budget the task becomes harder.
The Dutchman has prioritised the additions of a striker and a central midfielder while it is almost certain he will look to bring in a new goalkeeper and possibly even a new centre back. With David de Gea now increasingly unlikely to sign a new deal at Old Trafford, United could soon be forced into recruiting a first choice goalkeeper instead of a back-up option. That will require a bigger chunk of Ten Hag's budget.
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United want to add another centre-back to their ranks this summer but that is likely to rest on them being able to offload either Victor Lindelof or Harry Maguire first. The duo are both being heavily linked with exits after experiencing a reduction in game time during the 2022/23 season.
If either do depart, United will be left with a gap to plug. United have been strongly linked with a move for Napoli ace Kim Min-jae in recent months following a stellar 2022/23 campaign in Italy and he has been a popular choice among many of the club's online demographic.
News of his reported impending move to Bayern Munich has resulted in some United supporters hitting out at the club for failing to bring him to Old Trafford, pointing to how he would have upgraded the club's centre-back options. However, some supporters have missed a key point in the reports linking United with his signature.
Kim joined Napoli from Turkish club Fenerbahce last summer and instantly became a regular starter for the Serie A champions, racking up 45 appearances in all competitions. He also started nine of their 10 Champions League matches, playing a key role in their run to the quarter-finals.
It means the South Korean, who is 26, will expect to be a regular starter at Bayern if his expected move to the Allianz Arena goes through. At United, however, guarantees of playing week-in, week-out may not have been an assurance Ten Hag could grant.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have formed United's first choice centre back partnership and Ten Hag is unlikely to break up that pairing as soon as next season, even though Varane's fitness can be hit and miss.
Both Varane and Kim are too good to warm the bench when they are fully fit, meaning it would have been hard for Ten Hag to convince the latter to join the Reds as a back-up option. Furthermore, signing any centre back for a big-money fee this summer would be neither wise or sensible, such are United's other priorities.
If United were looking for a starting centre-back, Kim would have been a perfect candidate. But the outlay required on a back-up role would be better spent elsewhere.
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