Seoul, July 30, 2024 — Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur’s signing of South Korean teenager Yang Min-hyuk was the latest in a number of East Asian players to move to England in 2024 as clubs look for the next Son Heung-min.
The European exploits of Son, captain of Tottenham and South Korea’s national team, over the past decade have helped to pave the way for players like Yang.
At 18, winger Yang is the youngest South Korean to sign for a top-tier English club. Following his signing on Sunday, he will head to London in January at the end of Gangwon FC’s season following a breakout campaign in the K-League in which he has so far scored eight goals and recorded four assists.
“I’m moving abroad so adapting is very important,” said Yang. “But there is Sonny (Heung-min) who will be a big help for my adapting process because we’re both Korean. Sonny is the captain of our national team and I’d say he had a big influence over my decision.”
Son, joint top scorer of the English Premier League in 2022, is perhaps the best-known Asian soccer star but there are others in the English Premier League. Last season his fellow Korean Hwang Hee-chan impressed at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma starred again with Brighton and Hove Albion.
“English clubs are traditionally conservative organizations, they don’t typically like to take risks but players such as Son and Mitoma have reassured prospective buyers that they are getting good deals,” Simon Chadwick, professor of geopolitical economy and sport at SKEMA Business School in Paris, told The Associated Press.
“Son in particular combines high quality play and consistency of performance with a stable personality and commercial appeal, which Tottenham secured at a relatively low cost.”
The Japanese and Korean markets offer value for money when compared to the European transfer scene. Yang cost a reported $5 million. Brighton paid just over $3 million for Mitoma.
Interest has filtered down this year to England’s second tier. Bristol City has signed Japanese winger Yu Hirakawa on loan from Machida Zelvia. South Korean forward Eom Ji-sung has moved to Swansea City and in January, Bae Jun-ho headed to Stoke City in January and Paik Seung-ho joined Birmingham City.
Blackburn Rovers and Hull City have recently been linked with, respectively, Japanese winger Yuki Ohashi and South Korea’s Song Min-kyu.
It also helps that there are now leading coaches such as Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou who are well-versed in Asian soccer. The Australian has worked in Japan and signed a number of Japanese stars as head coach of Scottish giant Celtic before moving to London in 2023.
“I really believe that Japan is producing some world-class players, who are already making their mark on the Premier League,” Postecoglou said ahead of Tottenham’s exhibition game with Vissel Kobe in Japan last week. Tottenham beat the Japanese side 3-2, with Son scoring a goal.
The Spurs face a K-League select XI on Wednesday in Seoul.
“Again, I am well aware of the quality of the K-League,” added Postecoglou. “They ’ve made a fantastic impact in Europe, a lot of Korean players, none bigger and none better than our own Sonny.” – AP
