Thomas Tuchel praised new Bayern Munich signing Kim Min-jae as “very complete” on Tuesday but said he is likely to sit out the German champions’ first match of a pre-season tour of Japan.
The South Korean joined Bayern last week, after winning Serie A last season with Napoli.
“He played an outstanding season in Italy and in the Champions League,” his new coach told reporters in Tokyo.
“He was very reliable, very strong defence, good build-up play. Very complete and hopefully he can settle in very quickly and be the defender he used to be.”
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Kim has 49 international caps and played in his native South Korea and China before signing for Fenerbahce in Turkey and then moving on to Napoli last summer.
Tuchel said the centre-back’s “development speaks for itself”.
“He did it step by step and with every change of club he took a new level of his game,” Tuchel said.
The CEO of FC Bayern Munich, Jan-Christian Dreesen (L), handshakes with Kim Min-jae during the press conference on July 21, 2023, in Munich. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Bayern manager expects Kim to make up for the departure of Lucas Hernandez, who departed for Paris Saint-Germain.
“We only could allow Lucas to go if we had a replacement of the highest level,” Tuchel said.
“We tried to convince Min-jae to join us, to take the next step and to join us at Bayern Munich. We are very happy that he decided to take this adventure in his next club, and hopefully he can take the next level,” he added.
Bayern plays Manchester City in Tokyo on Wednesday, although Tuchel said Kim was unlikely to feature in that game.
“No, the game comes a little bit early for him tomorrow. He will very likely not play tomorrow,” Tuchel said.
After facing City, Bayern will take on J-League side Kawasaki Frontale in Tokyo on Saturday before travelling to Singapore for a game against on Liverpool.
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