Transfer Profile: Kim Young-wook

Jeju United have dipped into the transfer market once more to add another piece in midfield following the departure of Kwon Soon-hyung who moved to Seongnam FC.  The man they hope will help to replace him is Kim Young-wook who makes the move to the island from Jeonnam Dragons, where he had spent his entire career after coming out of their youth system.  What kind of impact will the 28 year old have for the islanders?  KLU's Branko Belan has a closer look at the new addition.
(Photo courtesy of Jeju United)


When he left the Jeonnam Dragons youth academy at the age of 18, Kim Young-wook was looked at as a player who had a lot of promise and who could become a contributing factor for the senior team.  Looking back to last season, he appeared in 28 matches and finished the season with six goals and three assists to his credit. 

While he is primarily a central midfielder, he is capable of playing several positions in attack, and has been used on the wing and as an attacking midfielder.  His overall game is solid both offensively and defensively, and he will give Jeju options with set pieces as he took free kicks on a regular basis with the Dragons.  It is thought that Nam Ki-il will make Kim a focal point in midfield along with Lee Chang-min to support attackers up top.

In his career to this point, he has played a total of 238 matches, scoring 21 goals and adding 20 assists.  He will have a chance to add to those numbers if Jeju can manage to develop chemistry early in the season, something which has evaded them over the past two seasons, leading to sub par results in the league, and ultimately, relegation to the second division.

A Stellar Youth Career

There were some early indications that he would be headed for great things in his football career as he consistently rose through the youth ranks on the national stage, as he was a part of the Korean team at the U-20 World Cup in Colombia, where they advanced out of Group A which included the hosts, France, and Mali.  

He scored Korea's only goal in the 3-1 loss to France, but despite having a negative goal differential, the team still made it to the knockout stage, but were eliminated in the Round of 16 on penalties by Spain after a goalless 120 minutes.

He was also a member of the famous Asian Games generation which won gold at home in Incheon in 2014, with Korea winning all seven of their matches and not conceding a single goal throughout the tournament.

The Season Ahead

His overall production has been up in recent years and the hope is that he will be able to add a few more goals to his tally in 2020.  There is no question that big things will be expected of him, but how he adapts to a new situation and a new club will tell much of the story.

For Kim, coming to Jeju took quite a bit of consideration.

"It was a difficult decision to leave Jeonnam.  I'm happy however, to have a new challenge with a new club, with Jeju.  There are many good players on this team.  I want to believe in this team.  I hope I can blend in well with the rest of the team and develop my teammates' skills as well as mine.  I will do everything necessary to prepare during winter training so that we don't fall short of fans' expectations," Kim said.

Jeju have revealed that the period for winter training will be from January 21st to February 12th.  Details about the training program are to be released in the near future, according to a club source.