Jorge Jesus expressed his surprise at the imminent departure of Napoli target Kim Min-Jae, suggesting that he ‘only learned about it two days ago.’
The Partenopei are desperate to sign the Korean centre back this week after completing the €40m sale of Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea. Leo Ostigard has already arrived from Brighton and now the club are hoping to add Kim to their backline as well, shoring up Luciano Spalletti’s defence a little.
Speaking via calciomercato.com, Jorge Jesus discussed the departure of Kim and underlined his surprise at the transfer.
“His transfer was planned. But it was a surprise for me, I only learned about it two days ago. Unfortunately, our club cannot do anything about it, we cannot keep him.
“The club interested in him will pay the release clause in his contract. It was a hard blow to learn this. We have other excellent players, but Kim has important qualities.”
Napoli began to accelerate in their quest to sign Kim and sent out a few emissaries to Turkey to finalise the deal over the weekend.
The final details are now being worked on and a move to the Campania capital seems imminent for the Korean defender. Rennes were also keen to sign the 25-year-old but ultimately lost out.