The birth of Korea’s first 10 Premier League players is imminent. Kim Ji-soo (19, Seongnam FC), born in 2004, is a ‘large center back’. He received an offer from Brentford of the English Premier League (EPL).
On the 15th, multiple officials familiar with the K-League transfer market told Sports Chosun, “Kim Ji-soo received a love call from Brentford. Brentford recently sent an official offer to Seongnam for Kim Ji-soo. It is known that a buyout ($700,000) and a cell-on clause are included,” he hinted.
Kim Ji-soo is considered the present and future of Korean soccer. He has an overwhelming physical body of 1m92-84kg and even has a soccer sense. He boasts various strengths such as excellent physical fighting and one-on-one ability. He hit his professional stage as a high school student last year. He ran the ground as Seongnam’s first semi-professional player. Although he is young, he received applause for his passionate performance. Kim Ji-soo played in 19 games of ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2022’. Former Jeonbuk Hyundai manager Kim Sang-sik, who led the ‘Team K-League’ in the All-Star Game last summer, praised Kim Ji-soo, saying, “Kim Min-jae (Napoli) comes to mind.”
Photo courtesy of Korea Football Association
Photo courtesy of Korea Football Association
Photo courtesy of Korea Football Association
He is also active as an ace in the national team for each age group. After passing through the national team under the age of 17 (U-17), he is currently playing for the national team under the age of 20 (U-20) led by coach Kim Eun-joong. He will sortie for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which opens in Argentina on the 20th (Korean time). Although he is young, he is standing shoulder to shoulder with his older brothers by repeatedly skipping grades. Kim Ji-soo is also considered a generation of the Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong.
Kim Ji-soo received attention from European clubs early on. In the winter transfer market last January, Bayern Munich, a prestigious German club, delivered a letter of intent to recruit players to the Seongnam club. Bayern Munich is known to have checked Kim Ji-soo’s league game for a long time last year. However, at the time, the door to the transfer market was closed in the process of exchanging documents. In this situation, interest in Kim Ji-soo became even hotter. Multiple officials said, “Bayern Munich’s interest in Kim Ji-soo seems valid. Bayern Munich’s interest has brought another interest. I know that some clubs in the German Bundesliga and Portugal’s Sporting are also interested.”메이저사이트
Photo courtesy of Korea Professional Football Federation
Brentford also started the race to recruit Kim Ji-soo. It moved very quickly. It is interpreted that Kim Ji-soo’s current performance as well as future potential were highly judged. It is very rare to offer to recruit a player who has just passed through the semi-professional and has just signed a professional rookie contract.
There are variables. It’s a work permit (work visa) problem. Kim Ji-soo has no experience with the A national team. You have to do your work permit homework. Brentford has been known to move quickly on their own. There was also a strong support group. That is Paulo Bento, former A national team coach. When Bento was the head coach of Korea, he constantly checked the K-League and national team games by age and checked the players. It is said that Bento sent a letter of recommendation to Brentford Kim Ji-soo. If the ‘guarantee’ of the coach of the national team A is tied up, it seems that the work permit problem can be solved.
Brentford is ranked 9th with 13 wins, 14 draws and 9 losses (53 points) in 36 EPL matches in the 2022-2023 season. If Kim Ji-soo joins Brentford, he will step on the 17th EPL stage as a Korean. It is the first time for a teenage player to go directly to the stage of the K-League 2 (second division).