Stevica Ristić and Mislav Oršić Re-Sign with Jeonnam

In the midst of what's been a pretty terrible couple of months as a Jeonnam fan, we've been bestowed with a plethora of good news in the past 24 hours.

The Dragons 2016 season has gone from an almost assured relegation battle to top three contender in a matter of days with the signings of Stevica Ristić and Mislav Oršić, two of the team's top scorers this season with 12 and 9 goals respectively. News of Stevo's re-signing became official last night when he posted the announcement to his Instagram page.

Color me surprised. Stevo just re-signed with #Jeonnam. 2016 looks a bit better. #KLeague pic.twitter.com/fa5MXpq9Iz

— Ryan Walters (@MrRyanWalters) November 12, 2015

As the tweet indicates, the news took me a bit off guard. After the Kim Byung-ji contract kerfuffle I referenced in the Gwangju preview,  I didn't see a lot of hope for fellow veteran Ristić re-signing with the team after such lackluster results to end the season. It seemed far more likely that one of the established top three clubs like his former teams Jeonbuk or Suwon would swoop in and sign the forward for his last contract. Both clubs will (likely) offer Champions League next year as well as a legitimate shot at the K-League title. However, it's quite likely Stevo would've had to accept a bench role with those clubs and opted for more playing time by staying with Jeonnam. Had he left for greener pastures, not only would the team have missed his presence in the locker room, they would also sorely miss his production. He's lead the team in goals the previous two seasons, is reliable from the spot, and often attracts double teams from opposing defenders. Having him back for an additional year to guide Lee Jong-ho up top is amazingly valuable for the Dragons in 2016 and beyond.

I was surprised by the Ristić news. I was flat out baffled and delighted by the following:

Croatian winger Mislav Orsic, aka Orsia in Korea, has secured a permanent move to Chunnam from Rijeka & signed a contract until 2018.

— Steve Han (@RealSteveScores) November 13, 2015

Oršić has 9 goals and 7 assists through 31 appearances this year and during his hottest stretch this summer scored seven goals through eight league games. He's been deadly on free kicks all year, and in recent matches Noh Sang-rae has wisely had the young Croatian taking corner kicks as well. The corners paid dividends in the form of a Lee Jong-ho headed goal vs Gwangju this past weekend. Beyond the stats and free kick ability, Oršić is a footballer who can just flat out play and has the raw talent to take him extremely far in this league (and likely beyond). He has tremendous pace down the wings, and not only tracks back far better than the vast majority of attackers in the league, but does so effectively winning a good number of his tackles. It's unrealistic to expect him to perform like he did during June and July for an entire season, but with a full year in K-League under his belt it's a safe bet next year will be more even and should garner even more impressive numbers. Especially when considering he'll have the added firepower of Stevo and Lee Jong-ho back for another year.

Without these two key players returning, and the likely departure of Kim Byung-ji, 2016's roster was going to look vastly different and had more holes than a sinking ship. However, with these surprise signings the 2016 Dragons now have a solid spine to build from.  With veteran defender Choi Hyo-jin in the back, Oršić returning to the midfield, and Stevo anchoring the attack along with Lee Jong-ho, the Dragons are a solid Center Back (or two) away from fielding one of the top teams in K-League next season. This should make the January transfer window quite interesting.