MANCHESTER UNITED are looking at a transfer for Napoli defender Kim Min-jae, according to reports.
The South Korean international, 25, only joined Napoli in the summer after a £16 million transfer from Fenerbahce.
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But he has impressed for the Italian side, scoring two goals in eight games and helping them to the top of the Serie A table, as well as a 4-1 win over Liverpool.
United show interest in Kim and will hold talks with Napoli in January about signing the central defender CNN Turkey.
The Red Devils are reportedly considering a move to activate Kim’s £44m release clause.
But it is claimed that that clause will not be available in the January transfer window, so United may have to wait or negotiate a fee with Napoli.
Tottenham and Juventus too showed interest in Kim before his transfer to Napoli.
But like Erik ten Hag, Antonio Conte chose to hire Clement Lenglet from Barcelona instead.
Ten Hag brought Lisandro Martinez over from Ajax and the Argentinian has since built a good defensive partnership with Raphael Varane.
That pair ousted captain Harry Maguire from the United squad, but Gareth Southgate has faith in England star and supports him to do well at the World Cup.
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He said: “Whatever reputation I have, I’ll put it on it.
“You should always stand by your judgment and we think he is an important player.
“If we thought there were experienced players ready to step in and play at a level above him, there would be another consideration and in some positions there would be a different level of competition that way.
“He is our most dominant central defender in the air.
“He and John Stones are incredible with the ball – the amount of pressure they’ve put for the team in tournaments we’ve played because we don’t always have that midfielder who can move the game forward.
“It means there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on our central defenders to use the ball well and those two are just as good at it as they are in world football.”