Everton receive blow in pursuit of defender compared to Virgil Van Dijk

Often called the ‘South Korean Virgil Van Dijk’, Everton target Kim Min-Jae has been told he won’t leave Beijing Guoan.

Everton for long have been hunting in the market to sign a quality centre back, so far they have failed to hit the bull’s eye. Centre backs such as Thiago Silva, Tyrone Mings, Gabriel, Kim Min-Jae and others have been linked but no success has achieved.

Yerry Mina is having problems of his own and could be on his way out of the club in the summer, leaving Michael Keane and Mason Holgate as only first team centre backs. The recent rise of Jarrad Branthwaite offers some hope but the Toffees need to add another centre back for squad depth.

Everton have now been dealt with a major blow in pursuit of Kim Min-Jae as his current club Beijing Guoan have conveyed to him that they won’t be selling him. The ‘monster’ defender was a prime target for many European sides including the likes of Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio and Porto.

According to Sky Sports, the central defender has returned to China for the restart of the Chinese Super League and upon his arrival in the Chinese capital, the club made their wish known of not sanctioning a sale even if a Premier League team arrives with an offer.

Though the same report mentions that if a huge and undeniable offer arrives, the CSL side will consider a sale. The ‘South Korean Van Dijk’ is a key cog in Guoan defence and losing him will put a big dent on the hopes of the CSL side for a title challenge. Min-Jae is a solid defender and there’s a reason why he is popularly called as the South Korean Van Dijk.

The 23 year old is a towering figure with the strength of beast, putting A-grade defending skills on display every time he steps on the field. The South Korea international has never failed to leave his admirers surprised with his adept technical and ball distribution skills. He is a quality centre back who deserves a chance in Europe and the Premier League.

However, the transfer blockade put by Beijing Guoan will hurt Everton a lot as the Toffees have lost a major target in the market. Carlo Ancelotti has stressed that he has assurances from the board that he will be given adequate resources to spend but going all in and overspending on Kim Min-Jae isn’t a wise option.

He is rated in the region of €15 million but with him being currently unsellable, the Toffees must concentrate on other targets in the similar price range.