On June 20, 2024, German soccer magazine Kicker announced the rankings of players by position for the 2023-2024 Bundesliga season.
Kickers were ranked by position in order of their overall season average rating this season.

Toto site German media, unlike other countries, gives ratings in order of 1 to 6 points, with 1 being the highest.
Munich players were not even in the top 20 in the center back rankings.

Kim Min-jae ranked 34th with an average season rating of 3.5 points.
Dayot Upamecano tied for 27th place with 3.43 points.

Alphonso Davis tied for 38th place with 3.54, while Matthais De Licht and Eric Dier did not make it to the rankings.

Bayern Munich Kim Min-jae for sale

Kim Min-jae also cannot be free from the harsh wind of Bayern Munich’s squad cleanup.
German media outlet Kicker reported on June 24, 2024 that Bayern Munich has set all three center backs other than Eric Dier as available for sale as it prepares to reorganize its defense.

The media said, “Dier is the only center back who cannot be sold this summer for various reasons.
He has proven to be a reliable defender with leadership qualities and does not receive a large salary that would significantly affect squad expenses.

Furthermore, he did not complain about not being able to play,” he said, explaining why Dier could not be sold.
At the same time, the media announced that De Licht, Upamecano, and Kim Min-jae will be eligible for sale.

De Ligt and Upamecano allowed to leave team

The media said, “Delicht and Upamecano have been allowed to leave the team if a suitable offer comes.
“This is the same for Kim Min-jae, who is in his first year of joining the team,” he said. “It was confirmed that Kim Min-jae’s performance has declined after the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup.”

“Internally, we have doubts about whether Kim Min-jae can develop because the football in Serie A and the Bundesliga is different,” he said.
Munich is currently targeting several center backs, and the closest one is Bundesliga winning center back Jonatan Ta (Leverkusen).

The media said, “It depends on which of the three center backs will receive the first good offer.
“If Ta joins Munich, the two center backs could also leave the team,” he said.

All Munich center backs are given a failing grade

Kicker gave all Munich center backs a failing grade when ranking the Bundesliga center backs for the 2023-2024 season.
On the 20th of last month, kickers were ranked by position in order of their overall average rating this season.

Unlike other countries, German media gives ratings on a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being the highest.
In the center back rankings, none of the Munich players were even in the top 20.

Kim Min-jae ranked 34th with an average season rating of 3.50.
Kim Min-jae and Upamecano, who played as a starting center back in the first half of the season, tied for 27th place with 3.43 points.

Alphonso Davis tied for 38th place with 3.54.
The center back duo of Matthijs De Ligt and Eric Dier, who played the main role in the second half of the season, were completely omitted from the rankings.

The top 10 included the Leverkusen defense team that won its first Bundesliga title.
Odilon Cosunou was first with 2.48 points, Jonathan Ta was second with 2.55 points, Alejandro Grimaldo was third with 2.57 points, Jeremy Frimpong was fourth with 2.68 points, and Piero Incapier was fifth with 2.82 points.

Edmung Tapsoba remained in 10th place with 3.02 points.
The second-place Stuttgart defense was also ranked.

Waldemar Anton (2.94 points) took 6th place, Hiroki Ito (2.96) took 7th place, and Maximilian Mittelstadt (3 points) took 9th place.
Leipzig defender Willy Orban (2.97 points) ranked 8th in the top 10.

Among them, Hiroki Ito has already joined Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich confirms signing of Japanese center back Ito

Munich confirmed the recruitment of Japanese center back Ito on the 14th.
According to the club’s official website, “We have recruited Stuttgart defender Hiroki Ito.

“Ito has signed a contract with us until June 30, 2028,” he announced.
This is Munich’s first signing in this summer transfer market.

If Ito joins and other players join, the positions of De Licht, Upamecano, and Kim Min-jae could be further shaken.
Bayern Munich, Germany’s most prestigious club and Kim Min-jae’s team, officially announced the signing of Japanese defender Hiroki Ito on June 14, 2024, saying that he had signed a four-year contract.

Ito is a left-footed defender who can play both center back and left back, so it seems inevitable that he will compete with Kim Min-jae for the starting position.
Some European media outlets also say that the yellow light on Kim Min-jae’s stay in Munich has grown due to Ito’s joining.

Ito, who initially looked like he would go to Tottenham Hotspur, said it was a great honor to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and is looking forward to the challenge in Munich.

Kim Min-jae moved to Munich last summer and played as Munich’s first Asian center back. He played an active role as the starting center back, playing full time in 15 consecutive games in the first half of the season.

Then, the ordeal of Kim Min-jae, who returned after participating in the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup in January, began. With Dier being recruited through the January transfer market, the number of center backs increased to four, and the competition for Kim Min-jae became even tougher.

In particular, as Kim Min-jae’s performance gradually declined, the number of games in which he sat on the bench increased. Kim Min-jae played 25 Bundesliga games, making 22 starts and 3 substitute appearances, and 3 games in which he did not come off the bench.

Former coach Thomas Tuchel was unable to form a clear starting lineup among Kim Min-jae, De Ligt, Upamecano, and Dier, and as the defense collapsed, the team fell to third place behind Leverkusen, which won the undefeated championship, and Stuttgart, led by Sebastian Hoeness. They failed to win 12 games in a row in the Bundesliga.

Bavarian Football Works, a German media outlet that mainly reports Bayern Munich news, predicted Bayern Munich’s best lineup under coach Vincent Kompany on the 3rd. At this time, the media predicted that Kim Min-jae would form a starting center back combination with Matthijs De Ligt. The German Bundesliga Secretariat also claimed on the 1st that Kim Min-jae would return as a starting member under coach Kompany. Kim Min-jae, who wore the Munich uniform last summer, was pushed out of the competition for the starting role in the second half of the season, but is expected to return as a starter next season, raising the possibility of a revival under the new leader, Coach Kompany.

Munich is trying to reorganize itself under the leadership of Max Eberle and Christoph Freund. At the center of it all is new coach Vincent Kompany.

For Coach Kompany’s aggressive soccer style, strong defense is essential. If the attack from the front is cut off, we need to form a strong defensive line that can provide good cover from the back, but we are trying to infuse new blood, including Hiroki and Ta, in place of existing resources.

Kim Min-jae has chosen to challenge next season, and attention is being paid to whether he will be able to continue competing in Munich again after being selected by coach Kompany.

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany reportedly prefers Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano next season. According to Christian Polk, senior editor of the influential German newspaper Sport Bild, Kompany’s preferred center backs are Kim Min-jae and Upamecano, and Kompany believes in the ability of both players. As for Matthijs De Ligt, who pushed out Kim Min-jae and was paired with Eric Dier, he explained that although Thomas Tuchel ignored him, there were doubts about selling De Ligt. With up to six center backs expected to compete fiercely for the two starting spots next season, Kim Min-jae and Upamecano appear to be ahead.

by 메이저사이트