Kim Min-jae’s attempt at Bayern Munich finally gave a “green light.” There will be no recruitment of Kim Min-jae’s competitor.
Reporter Florian Flettenberg, who is familiar with Munich news for Germany’s “Sky Sports,” said on the 16th (Korean time), “Leverkusen coach Xavi Alonso spoke about Jonathan Ta. He is in my plan. Ta is with us, he is included in my plan, and he is a very important player for us,” Alonso said.
Ta is a German veteran center back. He has been with Leverkusen since the 2015-16 season, and has scored 14 goals in 353 official matches. Despite his 194-centimeter-tall stature, he boasts flexibility and fast feet, which illustrates his excellent ability to cover the background space. Ta also wanted a new challenge, as he achieved an impressive record of undefeated record following his victory in the League and the DFB-Pokal Cup at Leverkusen last season. The team he wanted was Munich. Munich also wanted to recruit Ta.
Munich attempted to buy Matthias de Ligt with the funds. “Jonathan has not changed his plans. He wants to join Bayern Munich as we agreed on personal terms for two months. Matthias de Ligt’s transfer could, as expected, facilitate other players’ transactions,” said Fabrizio Romano, who is well versed in the European soccer transfer market. In the end, Munich succeeded in selling de Ligt after a long tug-of-war with Manchester United.
However, Munich changed its mind. Coach Bang Sang Kompany seemed satisfied with the current defense. Currently, Munich has five center backs including Kim Min-jae, Hiroki Ito (injured), Eric Dier, Dayo Upamecano, and Josip Stanisic. The cause of Kompany’s change of mind lies in Stanisic’s multi-talented ability. As a member of Leverkusen last season, he played various positions including right fullback and centerback.
Stanisic displayed good performance in the pre-season. He played center back in the pre-season game against Tottenham Hotspur in Korea. Stanisic, who collaborated with Kim Min-jae, blocked Tottenham’s strikers, including Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski. At the second game against Tottenham in London, the U.K., he played right fullback and displayed good performance.
Center backs also showed good performance. Kim Min-jae, who had always started, also firmly locked the back door, and Upamecano and Dyer also showed compliance. On top of that, “promising star” Sasha Boy, who plays right fullback, also showed potential for development, giving her an opportunity to use Stanisic as an anomaly depending on the occasion. In the end, Kompany seems to have withdrawn his recruitment due to the strong performance of the defense.
The “green light” has finally been given to Kim. Kompany’s trust in Kim has been proven once again. Munich won 4-0 against Olm in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in the 2024-25 season held in Olm, Germany on Wednesday. Kim started at center back along with Upamecano. Kim lived up to the coach’s expectations. He played full time for 90 minutes, recording three kickbacks, two header clearings, two interceptions, eight recovery, 100 percent success rate of ground ball competition (1/1), and 83 percent (5/6) success rate of aerial ball competition. The soccer statistics media “Sofascore” gave Kim a 7.5 point rating, which was the highest rating among Munich’s defense teams.안전놀이터
In the end, Kim is more likely to meet Ta as an “enemy.” Kim and Ta will continue their competition as the best center backs in the team to lift the Bundesliga trophy, respectively.