Kim Min-jae vs Dayot Upamecano: who Liverpool should sign as Bayern Munich director makes centre-half claim

Liverpool’s hunt for centre-half reinforcements seems to produce a new name every other day even if there is a feeling that it will be too little, too late.

Until the January transfer window opens, Arne Slot will have to make do with what he has got at his disposal with calls for Ibrahima Konate to be dropped for Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk not looking like his normal, imperious self. Out of all of the Reds boss’ problems, the defence is the most pressing and most important one to fix.

Two Bayern Munich targets on Liverpool’s shortlist

As seen against Brentford, there is a lack of physicality and dominance if the ball is kept away from Van Dijk, the skipper is too, but he can’t do it all in his own which is why a centre-half who can look after themselves might be a priority. After missing out on Marc Guehi in the summer, Liverpool need to either bid again on the 1st of January or risk losing him to Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. On top of this, they need to find a replacement for Konate.

Recommended by Liverpool World, Dayot Upamecano has been linked on a Bosman from Bayern Munich, however, it is the player who the France international is keeping out the team that has now been mentioned – Kim Min-Jae.

The 6ft 3inch tall South Korea international has a host of individual awards from his time in his homeland, in Serie A and the Super Lig, including a Ballon d’Or nomination. At 28-years old, he is coming into his prime as a centre-half and would bring the sort of physicality that has been missing from Liverpool’s defence.

Compared to Upamecano (using his 2024/25 statistics due to a lack of game time) there is one clear difference between the two Bayern defenders on Data MB’s comparison model. Min-jae is comfortably more dominant in the air. During an era when teams are being more direct and Liverpool are facing more long balls than any other team, having a centre-half like Min-jae could see a return of clean sheets, something that used to be a regular occurrence.

Is Kim Min-jae for sale?

Despite his current situation as a back-up, Min-jae is under contract until 2028 and, according to Bayern sporting director Christophe Freund, via The Chosun Daily, isn’t going anywhere soon: “There is absolutely no intention to send Kim Min-jae away. He is a very important player for our team. Although he went through a difficult period due to injuries, he is now completely healthy after a long time. We are very satisfied that he remains with the team. Freund also emphasized the importance of rotation, stating, “Managing players’ stamina is essential for the high-intensity football pursued by Manager Kompany. Kim will continue to receive consistent opportunities.”

What it looks like is Min-jae is the fail safe should Upamecano leave at the end of his contract. Bayern know that they have an experienced operator on their books who Vincent Kompany can trust. Ironically, should the Bundesliga champions make a pre-contract move for Geuhi in January and steal a march on Liverpool, it could well open the door for Min-jae to move to Merseyside. Last summer there was a striker merry-go-round, over the next two windows, it will be the turn of the centre-halves.