Liverpool to battle Manchester United for Napoli's Kim Min-jae?

Liverpool are reportedly set to battle Manchester United for Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae.

The 25-year-old joined Napoli from Fenerbahce last summer as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, who completed a move to Chelsea.

Kim quickly established himself as a key member of Napoli's side, and he has gone on to make 35 competitive appearances, contributing two goals and one assist.

Having started 26 of Napoli's 27 league games this season, Kim has helped his side establish a 19-point lead at the top of the Serie A table.

Kim is attracting interest from a number of clubs, and he reportedly has a £42m release clause in his Napoli contract, which will become active for a short period this summer.

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Man United are among those that are considering a move, but they could now face competition from their bitter rivals.

According to Italian outlet Rai, Liverpool are set to enter the race for the South Korea international.

Liverpool will reportedly entertain bids for out-of-favour defender Joel Matip in the summer, while Joe Gomez is being linked with a move to Newcastle United.

If there are defensive departures this summer then Jurgen Klopp will look to bolster his backline, and Kim could be a potential option.

A recent report claimed that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis may be tempted to cash in on one of the club's prized assets.

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Kim has been on international duty, and speaking after South Korea's 2-2 draw with Colombia last week, he played down talk of a summer departure.

"As you know, those rumours are not true at all," Kim told reporters. "I want to focus on my team. I have many tournaments to play.

"It's been four or years I have had these rumours. It's uncomfortable. I wish you don't spread those stories. I cannot be bothered by transfer rumours because they aren't true.

"Now I'm focusing on the team, rather than that kind of nonsense. There are so many important matches to go and right now I only want to focus on Napoli."

Kim is expected to start in the centre of defence when Napoli welcome AC Milan to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday for a Serie A contest.