Footballers love to say that playing for your country is the most significant honour for any athlete. Well, serving your country’s military must rank higher even than that! Manchester United’s transfer target Kim Min-jae would love to come to Old Trafford but will have to complete the compulsory military service in his native South Korea.The 26-year-old Napoli centre-back is reportedly close to becoming United’s recruit, but he was recruited by the Korean Army first. Min-jae has a release clause of around $63 million in his contract, which the Old Trafford club is prepared to trigger.Kim Min-Jae is the perfect long-term partner for Lisandro Martínez at Manchester United. Reads the play, anticipates & intercepts, strong in the air, progresses the ball.. don’t get your hopes up don’t get your hopes up don’t get your hopes up don-#MUFC pic.twitter.com/ufLA0XJ3WY— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) June 7, 2023 All able-bodied men in South Korea between the ages of 18 and 28 are required by law to serve 21 months of national service unless they are excused. Kim Min-jae and Tottenham winger Heung-min Son won the Asian Games in 2018, earning them exemptions. Despite this, Kim will still have to undergo a few weeks of required training. Kim was supposed to go through his training this year, although Son already finished his military service in 2020. After the workout, he is anticipated to rest briefly before joining whichever club he is contracted with. The 26-year-old had a standout season with Napoli in 2022/23, recording 20 shutouts in 45 contests while also tallying two goals and two assists. He’s expected to be a considerable upgrade on Harry Maguire, who is almost sure of leaving the club.##NAJAVA_MECA_7308852##Min-jae was a transfer target for Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham back in 2020 while he was still playing for Beijing Guoan in China. However, Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy wouldn’t pay the $10 million price tag. Instead, Kim remained in the Chinese Super League before moving to Turkish giants Fenerbahce in a cut-price $3 million deal a year later.The strong defender needed just a year in Europe to draw attention to himself and Fenerbahce made a $15 million profit when they sold him to Napoli in July 2022. The Korean arrived as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly and proved an instant hit. Naples is another city where the 49-times capped South Korea international will stay for only a year. But before he heads to Manchester – he’ll have to play war for a bit!
