Kim Min-jae has been named the best player in Serie A for the 2022-23 season by Italian fans.

European transfer agency Transfermarkt released the results of the fans’ poll for Serie A’s Best 11 for the 2022-23 season on Aug. 8 (KST). Kim Min-jae was among the top 11 defenders in Serie A, receiving an overwhelming 92.20% of the vote. Kim Min-jae received the highest percentage of votes of any defender in the Serie A season’s Best 11.

Osimhen (Napoli), Kvarachelia (Napoli), and Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) round out the fan-voted Best 11 forwards in Serie A for the 2022-23 season. The midfielders are Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Lovotka (Napoli), and Varela (Inter), while the defense is made up of Hernandez (AC Milan), Bastoni (Inter), and Di Lorenzo (Napoli) along with Kim Min-jae (Napoli). Provedel (Lazio) was selected in goal.

Napoli had the most players in the 2022-23 Serie A Best 11 with five. Inter Milan had three players and Lazio had two. Osimhen and Kvarachelia received the most support in the fan-voted Best 11 of the Serie A season with 93.90% of the vote.

Kim Min-jae started 35 Serie A games in 2022-23, anchoring the Napoli defense. Napoli conceded just 28 goals in 38 Serie A games, the fewest in the league, and won their first Serie A title in 33 years, since the 1989-90 season when Maradona played.

Kim has been recognized as one of the league’s best defenders since the start of the season, winning the Serie A secretariat’s Player of the Month award last September. Kim capped off a successful season by being named to the Serie A Secretariat’s Team of the Year and winning the Best Defender award.

Kim is widely expected to leave Napoli this summer with a buyout clause. On August 8, Italian media outlet Il Napolista reported, “Manchester United (Man United) are ready to pay a buyout clause to sign Kim Min-jae. The Red Devils have offered Kim a contract until 2028, with an annual salary of €6 million (approximately $8.4 billion) and an option for a further year. ‘Kim Min-jae said goodbye to his Napoli teammates after the final game of the 2022-23 Serie A season,’ the UK’s Daily Mail reported. Napoli want to keep Kim but can’t compete with United, who have the financial resources to do so. United have held several meetings with the player’s representatives and an agreement is imminent. Kim will play at Old Trafford next season. 먹튀검증

The Sun also introduced the race for Kim Min-jae on August 8, stating, “Newcastle are making a move to hijack Man United transfer target Kim Min-jae.