Still buzzing about the Ji Dong-Won transfer to Augsburg/Borussia Dortmund, which Jinseok’s informed us yesterday at the Tavern – incredibly the BVB shocker took quite a time to filter out from the english press -it wasn’t until today as the BBC just put out the word an hour ago, but we’ll get back to that later…looking over to Korean Footballers Abroad, they got the skinny on Koreans playing games that matter this weekend (Bundesliga on winter break). All times are in US EST, again, apologies to Tavern goers in Korea, not sure the TV broadcast situation there for these games.
| Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 7:45:00 AM | Ki Sung Yueng | Sunderland | Southampton | NBC Sports |
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Lee Chung Yong | Bolton | Huddersfield Town | TBD – BeIn |
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Kim Bo Kyung | Cardiff City | @Manchester City | NBC Extra Time |
| Sunday | 10:30:00 AM | Park Ji Sung | PSV Eindhoven | @Ajax | GolTV |
Back to the Ji Dong-Won shocking transfer news yesterday – the english media were late to the news, and until about an hour ago – still tagged Ji only to Augsburg (transfer for an undisclosed amount), the Bundesliga team in which he played a integral part to their escape from relegation last season while on loan from Sunderland. The surprise announcement by Borussia Dortmund later in the day yesterday that they will take Ji on a free transfer starting this summer until 2018 is so gangster – that really was the transfer news of the day, but so far it’s the story the english press had completely missed (an hour ago the BBC started reporting the BVB part of the story). The original story broke on Kicker during mid-day yesterday. Stealthy move by Jurgen Klopp! There’s a lot to unpack with how this deal transpired – and perhaps how Sunderland both overplayed and underplayed their hand -were they bamboozled? There is no doubt, Ji was under-utilized at Sunderland as various managers couldn’t figure out how to best play the 22 year old forward in their squads ever since he joined up the Wearside team back in 2011…more on that later….
An excerpt from the BBC article: “Ji looks set to replace Bayern Munich-bound Robert Lewandowski…”
Once Ji dons the BVB jersey, he will be the 2nd Korean to play for the team (Lee Young-Pyo had one season in ’08-’09 for BVB).
We’re hearing rumours of Wolfsburg’s Koo Ja-Cheol heading to Mainz – but I haven’t checked in several hours – the situation could have changed already – we’ll keep you updated as soon as possible.
Finally, not in transfer news, the Barcelona academy Koreans are/were in an international tournament. Lee Seung-Woo scored in 2 matches that I know of so far, assists by Jang Gyeol-Hee (I think – will give confirmation soon). More on this later at the Tavern…when I can steal away some time at work…
Update: well it’s not really an update but this is the silly season after all – my wife snapped a picture of me running around the Tavern with the Taeguk-gi flag draped around like a superhero cape after hearing about the incredible news of the Ji transfer to Augsburg / BVB.
Koo’s deal is all but done I’ve heard!
Haha, that’s pretty much how I felt. Good January this is. Cue PJY leaving Arsenal and YSY finding some other Championship team to take him
So are these Park Ji Sung rumors legit? sounds like a comeback
They’re gaining steam on Korea, but I’ll believe when I see it. Park has consistently said that he won’t return, and he hasn’t officially said anything to the contrary yet.
More Ki – Laudrup fallout info
http://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/ki-vs-laudrup-truth.865936/