A positive trend is flowing with Lee Kang-in, the future of Korean soccer, joining the Asian Games.
Fabrizio Romano, a transfer market reporter, posted on his SNS account on the 15th (Korean time), “From what I understand, Paris Saint-Germain decided to send a positive signal today about Lee Kang-in’s participation in the Asian Games. “PSG will select Lee Kang-in for the 2023 Asian Games,” he said.먹튀검증
Lee Kang-in has Korean nationality, but grew up in the Valencia youth team. Since his youth days at Valencia, Lee Kang-in has been attracting attention as the next star of Korean soccer. He led the Korean national team to the finals of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup and was also awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.
Lee Kang-in left Valencia in August 2021 and settled in Mallorca. After going through an adjustment period at Mallorca in the 2021/22 season, his skills improved one level last season. Lee Kang-in has established himself as Mallorca’s ace, recording 6 goals and 7 assists in 39 games across all competitions in the 2022/23 season. Lee Kang-in’s greatest strengths were his excellent technique, ability to escape pressure, and precise left-foot kicking.
Several clubs showed interest in Lee Kang-in’s growth. Atletico Madrid, led by coach Diego Simeone, targeted Lee Kang-in, but negotiations with Mallorca broke down and the move to Madrid was canceled. Following AT Madrid, PSG approached Lee Kang-in. After intense negotiations, PSG signed Lee Kang-in for 22 million euros (about 31.1 billion won).
Lee Kang-in started in two games after the opening of the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season. In the first round match against Lorient, he played 82 minutes and recorded a pass success rate of 82% and the number of touches on the ball 58 times. He appeared as a left winger in the second round match against Toulouse, but he did not show much and was replaced by Kylian Mbappe in the 11th minute of the second half. From the third round onwards, he was sidelined due to a left quadriceps injury.
Lee Kang-in was selected to the Asian Games roster led by coach Hwang Seon-hong. Recovery from injury was fast. Director Hwang Seon-hong said about Lee Kang-in, “I am in personal contact with Lee Kang-in and communicate with him. It is understood that he has been training with Ball since this week. After the international match ends in September, we are focusing on preparing for the weekend match. “Paris Saint-Germain is thinking about playing one league game and then joining the Asian Games,” he said.
The problem was when to join. The timing of Lee Kang-in’s selection was not clear. Director Hwang Seon-hong said, “I’m a bit frustrated too. I am personally in communication with Kangin, and he wants to join as soon as possible, but it seems that the timing of joining with Paris Saint-Germain is not well coordinated. He left an ambiguous answer, saying, “The association continues to communicate closely with Paris Saint-Germain.”
Coach Hwang Seon-hong continued, “I hope we can come in at least one or two games before the group stage of the Asian Games, but it’s not working out well. PSG seems to be putting forward several conditions. “(One of the conditions) could be the Asian Cup qualifiers to be held in January next year,” he said. As coordination with PSG was delayed, fans’ frustration grew.
In the worst case scenario, the Korean national team could play the Asian Games group stage without Lee Kang-in. There were concerns that preparations for the competition would be disrupted, but if Romano’s words are true, Korea was able to avoid the worst scenario.