Kim Min-jae could fly to Munich for Bayern medical this week: Reports

Napoli center-back Kim Min-jae could be set to fly to Germany within this week to undergo a medical check ahead of a possible move to Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Kim Min-jae [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Napoli center-back Kim Min-jae could be set to fly to Germany within this week to undergo a medical check ahead of a possible move to Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Fabrizio Romano, the Italian journalist who is seen as Europe's top authority on transfer news, Tweeted Monday night that Kim was set to undergo tests this week, with Bayern then ready to trigger Napoli’s narrow release clause.

“Kim Min-jae will undergo medical tests with Bayern this week, currently scheduled on Wednesday,” Romano said. “Bayern will trigger the release clause from Napoli right after, could be this week too. Here we go since last week, confirmed.”

While Romano’s “confirmed” transfer news tends to be very accurate, the timeline he’s suggested for Kim this week does raise some doubts — Kim is not set to finish his mandatory military basic training until Thursday, making an appearance in Munich on Wednesday seemingly impossible.

It is feasible for Kim to arrive in Munich for a Friday medical test, however, assuming he departs Korea on Thursday evening or even Friday morning.

Kim joined Napoli in July last year to fill a gap left by Kalidou Koulibaly’s departure for Chelsea. Kim immediately fitted into the lineup, earning Serie A Player of the Month honors in September and going on to be a regular starter in the first Napoli squad to win a Serie A title in more than 30 years.

That single season has already made Kim the most successful Korean footballer ever to play in Serie A, and triggered an arms race this summer as top clubs fight to trigger Kim’s narrow release clause while Napoli look to shut that door for good.

Bayern have been the front-runner in the race to sign Kim for the last few weeks, suddenly replacing Manchester United as the favorites after months of rumors linking the Red Devils to the Korean defender.

With Kim currently completing his mandatory military basic training and unable to sign a contract until that is completed, it has remained unclear whether the Bayern move was actually a serious option or an attempt to pressure United in negotiations.

But with the end of Kim’s isolation now just a couple of days away and no sign of United anywhere near the negotiating table — at least not publicly — it seems increasingly likely that the Bayern move is going to prove to be the real deal.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]