‘Prepared to accept’ - Fabrizio Romano reveals Man Utd transfer blow as target on cusp of ‘five-year deal’

Napoli defender Kim Min-jae is ‘prepared to accept’ a five-year contract at Bayern Munich in a blow to Manchester United’s hopes of signing the player.

The 26-year-old played a key role as Napoli lifted the Serie A title for the first time since 1990 but he has a release clause of £42m at the Italian club which will become active on July 1.

Fabrizio Romano claims an agreement between the player and Bayern is reaching the ‘final stages’ and unless another club can offer a bigger salary, he will head to Germany.

The revelation does not close the door completely on the Red Devils, who are reportedly prepared to offload Harry Maguire this summer. It would leave Erik ten Hag needing more depth in the centre of defence. Kim, according to the Mirror, is United’s number one target to bolster their options in that area of the field.

Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe will both leave Old Trafford when their contracts expire at the end of this month while Eric Bailly is also expected to depart the club.

Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane appear to be Ten Hag’s preferred centre-back pairing. United do look set to keep Victor Lindelof this summer, after Ten Hag reportedly blocked Eintracht Frankfurt’s attempts to sign the Swede.

Reports in Germany claimed Frankfurt had tried to sign the player in January and despite registering interest again in this window, they have ‘no chance’ of signing him due to Ten Hag’s desire to keep him.

Meanwhile, widespread reports claim United are interested in a deal for France defender Axel Disasi. The 25-year-old joined Monaco in 2020 but reportedly wants to make the switch to Ten Hag’s side with L’Equipe reporting earlier this month all that remains is for the two clubs to agree a deal.