[MyDaily = Reporter Kim Jong-guk] Interest from Italy’s football circles in Kim Min-jae shows no sign of slowing down.
Kim Min-jae, a driving force behind Napoli’s 2022–23 Serie A title, moved to Bayern Munich after that breakthrough season. He played a central role in Napoli’s first Scudetto in 33 years, and Bayern activated his buyout clause to secure the defender. Since joining Bayern, his name has repeatedly surfaced in transfer talk linking him back to Serie A clubs.
On the 24th, Italian outlets including Mediaset ran an interview with coach Madaloni. Madaloni worked under Marcello Lippi with the China national team from 2016 to 2019, and he first noticed Kim while the center back was playing in the Chinese Super League.
Madaloni recalled, \"When I was with Lippi on the China national team, we often went to watch Chinese Super League matches. Kim was 22 when he was playing in Beijing, and I really liked him. I followed his games for about a year. Later, at the Asian Cup, Kim scored against China and put in a standout performance. Right after that match, around midnight, I texted Napoli sporting director Giuntoli: 'I can recommend a truly good player.' He replied, and ten days later Giuntoli called to say, 'You were right. Kim Min-jae is an excellent player.'\"
Madaloni said Napoli couldn’t sign Kim at the time because they had no non-EU roster slot. Once Kalidou Koulibaly left, Napoli moved quickly to bring Kim in. There was skepticism when he first arrived, but by the end of that season fans were chanting his name.
Spalletti, who coached Kim during Napoli’s title-winning campaign, is now in charge at Juventus. Madaloni praised Kim’s work ethic, recalling Spalletti telling him, \"Kim trains so hard I have to hold him back.\" Kim reportedly wanted to train even on rest days and during recovery sessions. Madaloni noted that Kim will take one-on-one challenges even 70 meters from goal — a sign of meticulous preparation. He added that Kim has struggled at times to adapt to Bayern’s preferred style and that there is room to improve his role in build-up play. Defensively, however, Kim is top-class, and a move to Juventus cannot be ruled out.
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