Kim Min-jae to Aston Villa from Bayern Munich
Kim Min-jae · Incoming transfer · Bayern Munich
The Verdict Right Now
8%likelihood
Linked / interestdeal stage
Incomingdirection
State of play
| Move | Bayern Munich → Villa |
| In short | Next-summer target, about £30m |
| Last reported | October 2nd (13 days ago) |
| Sourcing | Solid reporting from a national outlet or a club beat writer |
Villa remain interested but next summer is the realistic window, TEAMtalk's Fraser Fletcher reported on October 2nd: Villa, Spurs, and Milan made contact in the summer without a formal bid, Kim turned Villa down, and a bid of around £30m should be enough next summer. Bayern would sell in January only if they could sign a replacement centre-back; the 29-year-old has dropped to third choice behind Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano but is content in Munich. Christian Falk of BILD said on October 1st that Villa had enquired in the summer and that Kim is a topic again for next summer, and wrote on September 26th that no January move is expected, with Bayern holding contract talks this autumn. SPORT put Bayern's price at around €40m on September 30th. Kim is contracted until 2028.
Primary source: TEAMtalk (Fraser Fletcher), October 2nd, via Read Aston Villa (James Chettle), October 3rd; Christian Falk (BILD), Bayern Insider podcast, October 1st; SPORT, September 30th; Christian Falk (BILD), September 26th, via Yahoo Sports · last corroborated October 2nd.
How the Story Moved
| Date | What changed | |
|---|---|---|
| August 13th | Tracked | Rumor opened on the board at 11% (linked) — source: TZ (Munich), via Sport Witness. Bayern have taken Kim off the market, which is the problem with this one. TZ reported on August 12th that Villa have been courting the centre-back for several weeks alongside their pursuit of Joao Palhinha: club officials made informal enquiries with the player's camp as early as the World Cup, when the South Korea international's focus was on the tournament, and renewed contact with his representatives after Kim scored Bayern's opening goal and impressed against Villa in the friendly in Hong Kong on August 7th. Nottingham Forest asked about him too and were quickly turned down. The obstacle is Bayern's own position. Kim was on their sale list last summer but an exit is no longer on the agenda, in part because Vincent Kompany has become increasingly convinced by him. "He is truly a defensive monster and really fast," the Bayern manager said recently, adding a compliment about how the defender carries himself. Those are not the words of a coach inviting offers, and Max Eberl named Sacha Boey, Bryan Zaragoza, and Palhinha - not Kim - as the three Bayern are open to letting go. The 29-year-old is contracted at the Allianz Arena and no bid has been lodged. The report is TZ's own and has not been carried by a national title or a recognised insider, so it sits on the board as interest and nothing more. |
| August 13th | Moved | Likelihood fell from 11% to 6% (cooling). Both ends of this one have now closed. Read Aston Villa reported on August 13th that Bayern are reluctant to sanction Kim's departure and that the defender himself favours staying in Munich, citing the South Korean outlet Chosun Biz, which says he has shown no intention of leaving despite the Premier League interest. Villa are described as facing an uphill battle if they pursue it further, and no bid has been lodged. The approach itself was real. TZ reported on August 12th that Villa had been courting the centre-back for several weeks alongside their pursuit of Joao Palhinha: club officials made informal enquiries with the player's camp as early as the World Cup, and renewed contact with his representatives after Kim scored Bayern's opening goal and impressed against Villa in the friendly in Hong Kong on August 7th. Nottingham Forest asked about him too and were quickly turned down. Bayern's position is the obstacle. Kim was on their sale list last summer but an exit is no longer on the agenda, in part because Vincent Kompany has become increasingly convinced by him, and Max Eberl named Sacha Boey, Bryan Zaragoza, and Palhinha - not Kim - as the three the club are open to letting go. The 29-year-old is contracted at the Allianz Arena and the reporting remains regional and relayed rather than carried by a national title or a recognised insider. |
| August 27th | Verdict | Rumor died — dropped from the board at 6% |
| September 21st | Tracked | Rumor opened on the board at 11% (linked) — source: fussball-news.de, relayed by Bulinews (Rune Gjerulff), September 21st; TZ (Munich), September 17th, via Star News. Villa are among the clubs watching Kim's situation in Munich, the German outlet fussball-news.de reported on September 21st in a piece carried by Bulinews, which named Spurs, Juventus, and Milan alongside them and said an important decision on the 29-year-old's future could come in December, when Bayern's management plan to meet him to discuss his sporting role. Any negotiation would start at €25m-€30m. Bayern's own position runs the other way: TZ reported on September 17th that the club have withdrawn the plan to sell him and intend to open early renewal talks with his representatives this autumn, reporting carried by the Korean outlet Star News, which described the interest from Villa, Manchester United, and Arsenal as effectively derailed. Kim is contracted until 2028, has played 399 minutes in five games this season, and no bid has been reported. |
| September 26th | Moved | Likelihood rose from 11% to 13% (linked). Villa are interested, but no January move is expected, Christian Falk of BILD wrote in his Bayern Insider column on September 26th. Falk reported that Villa, Spurs, and Milan all made contact over Kim during the summer window without making an offer, and that the 29-year-old's future turns on contract talks Bayern will hold with him this year: Bayern will be the first club he negotiates with, and will decide whether to extend his deal or make him one of the players they would consider selling. fussball-news.de, via Bulinews, reported on September 21st that any negotiation would start at €25m-€30m, and TZ reported on September 17th that Bayern had dropped their plan to sell and intend to open early renewal talks this autumn. Kim is contracted until 2028, and no bid has been reported. |
Timeline since the rumor joined the board.