Qatar World Cup round of 16 had no effect. Through the winter transfer market, players who had a high possibility of transfer remained with their team one after another. Rather, Park Ji-soo (29, Portimonense), who failed to participate in the World Cup, and Oh Hyun-gyu (22, Celtic), who was on the reserve list, entered the European stage in an ironic situation.
Cho Kyu-seong (25, Jeonbuk Hyundai), who emerged as the best star through the World Cup, eventually remained in the K-League and knocked on the European stage again this summer. For the first time in the history of Korean football, he scored a “multi-goal” in one World Cup game and received worldwide attention. In fact, love calls came from Europe such as Mainz (Germany) and Celtic (Scotland), but after much consideration, the timing to advance to Europe was delayed.
There was a will to advance to Europe, but Cho Kyu-seong was worried about the timing of the winter and summer transfers. During this process, technical director Park Ji-seong and manager Kim Sang-shik recommended a summer transfer rather than a winter transfer. Mainz or Celtic were active in recruiting Cho Kyu-seong, even proposing the actual transfer fee, but in the end, they decided to stay.
It is unclear whether interest from European clubs will continue until this summer compared to this transfer market, which was able to enjoy the greatest effect immediately after the World Cup. This is the reason why there are not a few eyes expressing regret at Cho Kyu-seong’s decision to stay, even refusing the possibility of going directly to the European big leagues.
Lee Kang-in (22, Mallorca), who played an active part in the World Cup as well as his team, eventually stayed with the team. However, this is a different case from Cho Kyu-seong. Several transfer proposals came, including the English Premier League (EPL), and Lee Kang-in also wanted a new challenge, but the club thoroughly blocked the transfer opportunity.
In fact, EPL clubs such as Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Brighton and Hove Albion, as well as Spain’s prestigious Atlético Madrid, participated in the recruitment of Lee Kang-in. However, Mallorca rejected all offers due to concerns about the departure of key players during the season, and the club that proposed a buyout, which was known to be 17 million euros 토토사이트, did not come out at all.
In addition, Na Sang-ho (27, FC Seoul), Kim Moon-hwan (28), Baek Seung-ho (25, Jeonbuk), and Hwang In-beom (27, Olympiacos), who performed well in the World Cup, were predicted to advance to Europe or transfer to bigger clubs, but all of them were hopeful. He stayed with his team to prepare for the new season or play the rest of the season. Among the 26 players in the final roster for the Qatar World Cup, Song Bum-geun (26), who moved from Jeonbuk to Shonan Bellmare in Japan, is the only player who moved through the winter transfer market (excluding Sangmu enlistment).
The regret that the World Cup stars did not appear on the bigger stage was rather comforted by the players who could not accompany or participate in the World Cup. Oh Hyun-gyu, who was unable to make it to the final roster after accompanying him to the preliminary list, joined Celtic and advanced to the European stage, and played his debut match. Park Ji-soo, whose World Cup dreams were shattered by an injury, joined Portimonense and stepped on the European stage for the first time in his career.