Jose Mourinho (60, Portugal), who leads AS Roma of Serie A in Italian professional football, confessed that he wanted to recruit Kim Min-jae (27), a defender who is currently active in Naples.
According to the British Daily Express on the 29th, coach Mourinho attended a press conference ahead of the 2022-23 season Serie A round 20 away game with Napoli and mentioned Min-jae Kim.
Coach Mourinho said, “I wanted to recruit Kim Min-jae when I was coaching Tottenham. I even had a video call with him.”
Manager Mourinho said, “At the time, Kim Min-jae’s team, Beijing Guoan, wanted 10 million euros (about 13.4 billion won), but Tottenham’s bid was 5 million euros (about 6.7 billion won). He pointed out that the club couldn’t bring in players because they couldn’t spend more money.”
“Look at the level of Kim Min-jae now. He praised him as the best player,” and expressed regret at the Tottenham club, which did not actively recruit Kim Min-jae at the time.
Mourinho took over as manager of Tottenham for a year and a half in November 2019, succeeding former manager Mauricio Pochettino. Son Heung-min (31) was also coached by Mourinho.
Previously, he was in charge of prestigious clubs such as Real Madrid in the Spanish Primera Liga, Chelsea in the English Professional Football Premier League (EPL), and Manchester United, and is evaluated as a mastermind who led Chelsea to win the Premier League three times. Manager Mourinho had been eyeing Kim Min-jae for a long time and praised him saying that he is currently playing at the highest level. 메이저놀이터
Kim Min-jae has been listed on Tottenham’s recruitment list since the transfer window in the summer of 2020. He was rumored to be targeted by Tottenham again in January 2021, six months before leaving Guoan, Beijing, China to move to Fenerbahce in Turkiye.
Kim Min-jae moved from Fenerbahce to Napoli in Italy last summer and established himself as the best defender in Serie A. The Daily Express said: “Napoli are currently leading Serie A by 10 points. Kim Min-jae’s performance in the rear had a great impact on Napoli’s victory march.”
With 16 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in 19 league games, Napoli (50 points) has taken the lead early and is almost certain to win the championship. It is 10 points behind second place Inter Milan (13 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses, 40 points).
Roma, led by coach Mourinho, is in 6th place with 11 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses (37 points). Naples and Roma will play round 20 of Serie A at 4:45 am on the 30th, Korean time.
