메이저사이트Gangwon FC will reconsider the transfer of Yang Hyun-jun.
A Gangwon official told Interfootball on June 6, “(CEO Kim Byung-ji and Yang Hyun-joon) had a conversation and resolved their misunderstanding. They will do their best in their respective positions. We will reconsider Yang Hyun-jun’s transfer.”
Yang Hyun-jun is a highly anticipated prospect in the K League. After making his debut for Gangwon in the 2021 season, Yang became a prominent rookie after last season. Yang developed into one of Gangwon’s key attackers last season, scoring eight goals and providing four assists in 36 games in the K League. His performance earned him the K League 1 Young Player of the Year award.
He even surprised coach Antonio Conte. Yang rattled the Tottenham defense with his unflappable play against Ryan Sessegnon and Davinson Sanchez in the Team K League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Team Korea in July last year, a game that introduced him to domestic fans. Yang’s bold advances, dribbles, and breakthroughs earned him applause from the fans. He even had a scoring chance at the end of the first half. After fooling Eric Dier with a fantastic body-painting move inside the penalty box, Yang tried to shoot but missed.
He even earned a taegeuk. Yang was a “surprise” call-up to the national team in September’s A-match trials ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. While it didn’t fulfill his debut dreams, it certainly motivated him.
At the time, Yang said, “My dream is to play for the national team, but I think I can only do that if I show a good performance as a team, so I will try to show a good performance in the team first.” Even though he didn’t make it to the World Cup, training with the national team was a good nourishment.
There were also high expectations from Kang Won. As a result, he was given the number seven jersey for the season. Yang Hyeon-jun suffered a broken nose at the beginning of the season, but he made a quick comeback and showed his dedication to the team. He even scored the winning goal against Jeonbuk Hyundai this season, and his performances have consistently led to speculation of a move to Europe. In the past, Fenerbahçe and Celtic have shown interest. Having enjoyed the success of signing Oh Hyun-kyu, the Hoops are once again looking to recruit from within the K League, and in doing so, they have been actively pursuing Yang Hyun-joon.
In fact, Celtic submitted an official proposal to Gangwon. A Gangwon official confirmed to Interfootball on March 22 that they had indeed received an offer. However, Gangwon’s situation makes it difficult to let go of a key player. Gangwon have won two, drawn seven and lost 11 of their 20 K League 1 matches this season (13 points, 11th in the league). The club decided that it would be difficult to send their ace in the race to stay up.
An official from Gangwon said, “Going to Europe is good for the player and for us. Our situation is not good right now, so we can’t afford to let him go easily. If we weren’t in a relegation battle, we would have been able to let him go for the sake of victory. It’s hard to let him go because he’s a key part of the team.” However, Yang Hyun-jun is unhappy with the club’s decision. He claimed that he was not able to meet with the CEO after the match against Incheon United on the 2nd. “I want to talk to him, but now…” he said, “I asked for a meeting, but I haven’t met with him yet. I think we need to resolve this issue somehow so that he can play well and help the team, whether he stays here or goes there. I think I need to resolve it quickly and prepare for it within this week.” Yang Hyun-joon even expressed his desire to leave, saying, “If the transfer fee is not enough, I would like to reduce my salary to go.”
However, CEO Kim Byung-ji revealed that they are continuing to communicate. Furthermore, the team’s operations and reinforcement departments decided that a transfer was not feasible, and the CEO revealed that he could not unilaterally send the player to another team.
In this situation, it was confirmed that CEO Kim Byung-ji and Yang Hyun-jun met in person on the 5th and resolved the misunderstanding. Even though the misunderstanding has been resolved, it does not mean that the transfer will go through. Gangwon will have to review Celtic’s official offer again and consider the club’s situation. During this process, they will have a full conversation with Yang Hyun-joon’s side to decide his future.
