'South Korean Van Dijk' Kim proving key in Napoli's Scudetto pursuit
That it took until November for Napoli to lose their first game of the season speaks volumes of the fine work Luciano Spalletti has carried out in Naples. Defeat at Liverpool on Tuesday night ended an impressive 13-game winning run, a streak that included fine wins over the Reds, defending Italian champions AC Milan at San Siro and a 6-1 thumping of Ajax in Amsterdam.
What's all the more notable about their superb start to the campaign has been that it came after a summer of change at the Stadio San Paolo. Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Kalidou Koulibaly, all fan favourites for the Partenopei, departed for Galatasaray, Toronto FC and Chelsea, respectively, with Giacomo Raspadori, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min-Jae all joining from Sassuolo, Dinamo Batumi and Fenerbahce.
The trio, among others, have settled in superbly, with the latter not necessarily replacing Koulibaly at the back, but proving an upgrade on the Senegal international. Tottenham fans will be ruing the decision not to pursue Kim given the centre-back's stunning start to life in Italy. Spurs were heavily linked with a move for the 25-year-old while at Beijing Guoan and Fenerbahce, yet elected against firming up their interest in the South Korean Van Dijk. They must be kicking themselves to have missed out on Kim.
With a WhoScored rating of 7.32, Kim is the best rated centre-back in Serie A this season, and the sixth highest rated player overall. Any suggestions that he may struggle to adapt to Italian football have been rapdily quashed, with Kim quickly establishing himself as a vital cog in this Scudetto chasing Napoli machine. Only Juventus (7), Atalanta and Lazio (both 8) have conceded fewer goals than Napoli (9) in Serie A this season, and it's evident that Kim has been crucial to their watertight backline.
Only Chris Smalling and Federico Baschirotto (both 59) have made more clearances than Kim (48) in Italy's top tier this term, with the South Korea international so often in the right place at the right time to alleviate pressure on the Napoli goal. Even against opponents that go more direct, Kim can be imperious in the air, noted in that only Fiorentina's Lucas Martinez (39) has won more aerial duels than the Napoli man (37) in Serie A.
That being said, as solid as Kim can be aerially, there is room for improvement here, as noted in that an aerial success rate of 64.9% is the 26th best of the 109 players to have attempted 20 or more aerial duels. Given a player his size, you'd expect that return to be higher, but this might also be down to some adjustment in Serie A.
Rather, Kim's best quality comes in his distribution. Napoli dominate possession in Serie A - only Fiorentina (60.1%) have seen more of the ball than Spalletti's side (59.1%) in the division - and have the best pass success rate (87%) in Italy's top tier. They are able enjoy the lion share of the ball in part due to Kim's ability to pick out a teammate.
As with any modern day centre-back, distribution is just as important as being able to deny opponents from scoring, and Kim excels in this area. An 89.7% pass success rate is the 13th best in the division, while 73.9 passes per game ranks top in Serie A to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'passing'. Considering Koulibaly's importance in the build up phase for Napoli last season, bringing in a centre-back to match his skill set was key, and Kim exceeds the 31-year-old in that regard.
For a team that relies on playing through the midfield to maximise the creative qualities of Piotr Zielinski and ball retention ability of Stanislav Lobotka to help get the ball to tricky wingers Kvaratskhelia and Hirving Lozano, Kim's willingness to get the ball down to set Napoli on the frontfoot is of the utmost importance. Indeed, he has made more forward passes (324) than any other player in Serie A this season, while 39.9% of his passes go forward, that ranking 30th for proportion of passes forward by outfielders to have made 250 or more passes in 2022/23.
Spalletti needs his centre-backs to be prepared to receive the ball from goalkeeper Alex Meret to transition from defence to attack, and Kim is clearly thriving with the demands of the Napoli boss. As the Partenopei seek a first Scudetto in over 30 years, Kim's rapid adaptation to Italian football will be a key reason should Spalletti manage the team to domestic, and possibly continental, success.
