Lothar Matthaus has criticised the performances of former Napoli defender Kim Min-jae since his big-money move to Bavaria from Campania this summer, and now Bayern Munich could turn to a free agent to sure up their defensive line according to recent reports.
Bayern paid a fee in the region of €50m to activate Kim’s release clause this summer, luring him away after just one season after Napoli were crowned Serie A champions for the first time in over 30 years.
And, though Bayern sit encouragingly in third place in the Bundesliga table, there is still room for improvement in defence if Bayern are to return to their usual dominant standard.
The German champions have kept just two clean sheets from their seven matches across the Bundesliga and Champions League so far as Thomas Tuchel looks to find his best combination of defenders.
However, despite Tuchel’s tendency to pick Kim as a starter, Matthaus believes that the South Korean is not currently playing to the same standard he showed he was capable of in Serie A.
“Kim didn’t shine against Leipzig, struggling against Openda. He brings a factor of uncertainty for Bayern. I have nothing against the player, but he has not yet lived up to expectations, given what he did while he was in Italy,” Matthaus told Sky Sport Germany.
Meanwhile, recent reports from Germany suggest that Bayern could bring in former centre-back Jerome Boateng to provide experience and leadership at the back in the absence of captain Manuel Neuer.
The former Germany international has been in training with Bayern at various points over the last few weeks, and Calciomercato.com writes that a final decision will be made in the coming days.