In Bayern Munich, there is a competitor who cares about “monster” Kim Min-jae, who is aiming to be proud of himself.
Japanese defender Ito Hiroki, who is currently playing for Stuttgart, is expected to make a surprise move to Bayern. Fabrizio Romano, who boasts the highest authority in the European transfer market, posted on his social media on Thursday (Korea time) that Bayern will pay Hiroki’s buyout of 30 million euros. He has a five-year contract period and plans to take a medical test in person next week. He posted his signature message “HER WE GO.” In fact, it meant “official.”
Germany’s Bild also said, “Hiroki is going to Bayern, not Tottenham. Bayern decided to pay for the buyout. Hiroki just needs to sign. Al Ahli also aimed for Hiroki, but he wears a Bayern uniform.”
It is literally a surprise transfer. Hiroki, a Japanese national, is at the center of the Stuttgart sensation this season. While Seru Girashi was at the front line, Hiroki was at the back. Hiroki led the Stuttgart defense with solid defense and sophisticated build-up capabilities. Hiroki performed just like an “altoran” performance, moving between center back and left back. Notably, he excelled in competitiveness as he was tall at 1m88 with excellent speed and speed as a left-back.
He is also very active in the Japanese national team. Hiroki made his debut against Paraguay in June 2022, and participated in both the Qatar World Cup and the Qatar Asian Cup. He has scored one goal in 19 A matches.
Hiroki, born in 1999, made his debut with Jubilo in 2018. Having left for Nagoya the following year, Hiroki returned to Jubilo in 2020 and played 37 league games, emerging as a top defender in the J-League. He attracted the attention of Europe. In the summer of 2021, he was a love call from the Bundesliga and on loan, wearing the uniform of Stuttgart. Although he was a loanee, he immediately established himself as a key defender of the team. He played in 29 matches in his first season, and even made critical assistance in the last game. He was named the best 11 among debut players. Encouraged, Stuttgart immediately sought full recruitment. The transfer fee was only 400,000 euros.
Hiroki, who played in 30 league matches last season, played in 27 league matches again this season, playing as a key defender. In collaboration with Jung, he gave Stuttgart a ticket to the European Champions League for the first time in 15 years. Hiroki ranked seventh in ratings among Bundesliga defenders this season based on height. It was an all-time season.
Naturally, big clubs had drooling. The transfer fee was not that big. Hiroki reportedly added a €30 million buyout clause when he renewed his contract with Stuttgart last summer until 2027. It is not a big money for big clubs. Leipzig and Dortmund sent Hiroki a love call. Tottenham was positive. The British newspaper The Sun said, “Tottenham is aiming to recruit Bundesliga star Hiroki. He will spend £25 million on the transfer fee,” adding, “Hiroki, who can also play as a left-back, helped his team Stuttgart beat Bayern Munich, where Herri Kane plays, to rank second in the league.” “Enze Postecoglou has experience coaching the Yokohama F. Marinos in the J-League from 2018 to 2021 and boasts extensive knowledge about the Japanese market. He wants another center back this summer, and he is keeping an eye on Hiroki.”
Mickey van der Pen and Christian Romero showed good chemistry last season, but Tottenham, which lacked backup resources, are looking for defensive resources this summer. Hiroki, who could even see Destiny Udoji’s backup, was the type of defender Tottenham wanted. Tottenham also tried to bring Hiroki in with a buyout.
However, Hiroki’s choice was Bayern. Multiple Stuttgart news outlets reported last month that “Hiroki is attracting Bayern’s attention. Dortmund is also keeping an eye on him. He is currently enjoying a good season in Stuttgart and is drawing attention due to his low buyout clause.” Romano said, “Bayern has launched a buyout clause to recruit Hiroki. Hiroki has also decided to join Bayern and will summarize the final contract details soon,” before releasing “HERE WE GO” shortly afterwards. As such, he has decided to go to Bayern in a surprise move.
Initially, it seemed that João Paligna would be Bayern’s No. 1 recruitment. David Osteen of The Athletic said on Thursday that Bayern offered 35 million euros to recruit Paligna. Bayern is making efforts to reach an agreement. Fabrizio Romano, dubbed the top European transfer market authority, also said on his social media that Bayern had reached a personal agreement with Paligna, adding that he had prepared for Paligna’s contract, agreed on salary, and approved by a player who wanted to make it happen. His transfer is nearing the end.
Sky Sports Germany also said, “Bayern has completed a verbal agreement with Palinha. Negotiations for a transfer fee are underway with Fulham. Palinha will sign a maximum five-year contract with Bayern. The estimated transfer fee is around 45 million euros.”
Bayern, which won no title last season, is working hard to recruit the squad. The first place to touch was the defensive midfielder. Palinha is back on the radar. Palinha is a midfielder with a tough defense with excellent physical ability. He has excellent height and strength, and he has good defense skills such as tackle. He has excellent build-up skills. Palinha left Sporting for Fulham in the summer of 2022 and has grown into a top defensive midfielder.
This is not the first time that Palinha and Bayern have been linked. Bayern sought a professional defensive midfielder last summer and ultimately chose Palinha after recruiting various players. Bayern offered a whopping 65 million euros in transfer fee for Palinha. Palinha also smiled at Bayern’s offer. Palinha’s move fell through just before joining Bayern. Initially, Fulham accepted Bayern’s offer, but did not approve it until Fulham found an alternative. Fulham sought to sign Pierre-Emile Hoivier, Son’s teammate, but it fell through when Hoivier announced his stay with Tottenham.
Palinha was only left with a medical test at Bayern, but Fulham’s failed recruitment of Hoibier and he eventually had to return to London. Fulham changed his mind by offering a contract renewal to a discouraged Palinha, but Palinha could not hide his disappointment. Palinha remained active at Fulham, and Bayern once again sought to recruit Palinha. Eventually, he completed a personal agreement and was on the verge of a transfer, but the transfer fee agreement is showing difficulties. Instead, Hiroki seems to be recruited first.
With the addition of Hiroki, Kim will have to play a key match between Korea and Japan. Kim Min-jae, who led Napoli to the championship and won the Serie A Defender of the Year award, chose to go to Bayern after Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain. Manager Thomas Tuchel’s aggressive courtship was crucial. Bayern established the World Cup-class center-back line called Matthijs the Licht, Kim Min-jae, and Upamecano. All three of them were top-notch center-backs, boasting enormous amounts of money and careers.
However, his voice creaked due to frequent injuries. In the first half, The Licht and Upamecano alternately collapsed due to injuries. Kim had to lead the defense alone. Controversy erupted over excessive labor. Despite the aftermath of the military drill, Kim remained calm and remained in the center of Bayern. However, there were voices of concern as he did not show as good as in the last season. German media criticized Kim’s poor performance, giving him a low rating. However, statistical websites such as Fuscoord made Kim’s name as the best defender in the Bundesliga in the first half of the year. Kim was also named the best 11 players in the first half of the Bundesliga.
However, the mood has changed since the Asian Cup. While Kim was mired in slumps in every game, Bayern’s performance also plunged. To make matters worse, Erik Dier, who was hired on loan from the winter transfer market, performed better than expected. Ultimately, Bayern’s central defense line was reorganized into The Liechte-Dier line. Kim also showed disappointment in some random matches. To be precise, he lost points in every game he played, as he was disappointed with Tuchel’s tactics. 먹튀검증
The decisive blow was the first leg of the semifinal match of the European Champions League against Real Madrid. Kim Min-jae, who was paired with Dyer due to the injury of The Licht, came under fire for being involved in both of his runs. He received harsh criticism, as he did not even receive ratings. One fatal mistake was made, but the game was all the more regrettable because he showed overall performance well. However, Tuchel did not defend Kim Min-jae, saying that he was too aggressive in defense, and continued to criticize him. Criticism from the German media intensified, and the criticism continued even after the substitution was deployed in the second half.
Kim Min-jae was honest about his poor performance at the last minute. “As a defender, I always played with confidence. But I was so confused with myself here. There were many moments when I hesitated during the game because I couldn’t play with confidence. I tried very hard to show what the coach wanted,” he said. “Tactically speaking, I should have met his requirements more, but I couldn’t do it properly. As a player, I need to know what I am good at and what I am not good at, and what I make mistakes or what I am good at.” He also expressed his intention to compete for the starting position.
Just in time, Bayern left a new baton to head coach Vincent Kompany. As Kompany plays football in the same style as Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, Kim Min-jae, who has an aggressive streak, may suit him well. This is why it is reported that Matthijs the Licht, who plays a stable defense, has been on the release list. Bayern, which suffered from a lack of depth in its defense last season, was connected to Jonathan Ta, John Stones, and Joe Gomez, but Hiroki is recruited first. It remains to be seen whether Kim Min-jae will win the main competition beyond Hiroki.
Meanwhile, Hiroki has a serious privacy controversy. Japanese media Weekly Munchun reported that it is suspected that Hiroki urged a woman to get an abortion twice in 2022. Weekly Munchun reported, “Hiroki called a woman who had been a classmate at elementary and middle schools to a hotel after graduating from high school and made love, and the woman became pregnant. However, when Hiroki opposed giving birth, she eventually chose to get an abortion.” The bigger problem is that Hiroki and the woman will meet again a year later and become pregnant. Weekly Munchun added the news, “When the woman announced her second pregnancy, Hiroki refused again this time.”
Hiroki’s lawyer responded, “It is different from the fact that I did not know whether the other person was Hiroki at the time of my first pregnancy. I understand that the second pregnancy was true. However, Hiroki and the woman in question were seriously dating, and they never forced her to have sex or have an abortion.” There have been numerous reports in Japanese media regarding the authenticity of the news, but Hiroki did not give exact information.
