ABU DHABI (AFP) - South Korea defender Kim Min-jae's goal-scoring exploits at the Asian Cup have not gone unnoticed overseas, but teammates are urging him to follow Son Heung-min to England rather than go to China.
The 22-year-old centre-back, nicknamed "Monster", has burnished his reputation as one of the region's hottest prospects, scoring twice and proving formidable at the back as South Korea reached the quarter-finals.
Baek Sung-kwon, general manager of his current club Jeonbuk Motors, confirmed a bid from Premier League club Watford which is reported to be around US$8 million (S$10.9 million).
Beijing Guoan, who finished the 2018 Chinese Super League season in fourth, are also in the hunt but so far, Kim is keeping his cards close to his chest.
"Until now, I want to focus only on the Asian Cup," he said on Thursday (Jan 24).
"I just want to talk about getting good results and so, at the moment, I haven't got anything to say about (a transfer).
"I just want to focus on helping the team not concede any goals."
Kim is already an established international, but missed the 2018 World Cup through injury.
A move to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League proved the making of Kim's celebrated teammate Son, while Ki Sung-yueng and ex-Manchester United star Park Ji-sung have also prospered in England.
And while Kim may be staying silent, his Chinese-based teammates at the Asian Cup have been happy to give their advice - and they are urging him to take the plunge in England.
"If Min-jae has big ambitions then it will be better for him to play on a bigger stage," said his central defence partner Kim Young-gwon, who has won two Asian Champions League titles and six Chinese championships with China's Guangzhou Evergrande.
"Of course, China is good but I think it would be better for him to play on the bigger stage that is Europe."
Kwon Kyung-won, who also plays in the Chinese Super League for Tianjin, gave similar advice.
"I thought that he was going to China but then I heard good news and I hope he can make the better choice," said Kwon.
The players were repeating the sentiment expressed on social media back in Korea as fans urged Kim, whose nickname stems from his powerful physique, to choose England.
Since moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2015, Son has turned into a global star, becoming the highest-scoring Asian player in Premier League history and also shining in the Champions League.
However, the Chinese Super League is also attractive to Asian players because of its high wages and proximity to home.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp denies their FA Cup exit has given them an advantage over Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Tottenham. Defeat to Wolves on Monday left the league
Bayern braced for Klopp reunion at Liverpool - sports.yahoo.com
Two goals in two minutes has seen the Socceroos comfortably dispatch Palestine 3-0 at the Asian Cup. Socceroos bounce back at the Asian Cup with Palestine win | Sporting News Australia
Socceroos bounce back with comfortable win over Palestine
Klopp hails Salah as he targets 97-point total, Football News
Cardiff 'shocked' by Sala pilot report. By. Cardiff claim they are shocked by a report that the pilot in the plane crash that killed Emiliano Sala was not qualified to fly at night.
Cardiff 'shocked' amid reports Sala's pilot was not qualified
The player put 4.85 million into his bag to secure the chip lead into the final day of the tournament at Harrah's Cherokee. Brand is vying for his second gold ring from the series. But winning the piece will be quite the challenge as there are five other previous gold ring winners left in the hunt for the top prize.
2019 WSOP Circuit - HARRAH'S NEW ORLEANS
Bayern Munich win Bundesliga title for seventh successive season - Times of India 2 weeks ago MUNICH (Germany): Bayern Munich received a record-extending seventh consecutive Bundesliga identify on Saturday after crushing Eintracht Frankfurt five-1 to end two points forward of rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern Munich win seventh consecutive Bundesliga title | Goal.com
Chelsea secured a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Thursday. Luka Jovic gave the Bundesliga side the lead at a rocking Commerzbank
Chelsea vs. Eintracht Frankfurt: Europa League live stream
Football: Returning Ozil has Arsenal future says Emery
LONDON (Reuters) - Aston Villa returned to the Premier League, after a three-year absence, beating Derby County 2-1 in the Championship playoff final at Wembley on Monday. Goals from Anwar El
Football: Villa return to Premier League with win over Derby
Jurgen Klopp celebrates with his players after the win over Barcelona Klopp told a press conference: "It would be a big football moment for us. Nothing has changed for us, we knew it before. "The only thing we can do is win. (Wolves manager) Nuno (Espirito Santo) is doing an incredible job there."
Black Ops 4 Zombies BLIND - Insane Pack-a-Punch & Thors
David de Gea is adamant Manchester United are not "satisfied" with their situation despite winning eight games in a row because the Premier League title is out of reach.
Man United not 'satisfied' despite winning run, says De Gea
Double injury blow for Spurs ahead of Liverpool clash (Reuters) Dier suffered a groin injury in England's 5-0 win over Czech Republic last week and was forced to withdraw from Gareth Southgate's
Double Injury Blow For Spurs Ahead Of EPL Clash With
Title: Where the Pavement Ends
Full text of "Mens Health November 2015 SG" - Internet Archive
0 comments:
Post a Comment