'Gwangju FC has made a decision'Ace Um Ji-sung goes to Swansea City
Jul 03, 2024
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A person familiar with the transfer market said through Sports Chosun on the 3rd that `Gwangju has finally confirmed that Um Ji-sung will be sent to Swansea City," he hinted.
It was a long fight. Um Ji-sung recently received a love call from Swansea City. The key was the transfer fee. Swansea City first proposed $750,000 (about 1 billion won), and then raised the amount to $1.2 million (about 1.65 billion won) after $950,000 (about 1.31 billion won).
Gwangju's position was different. Um Ji-sung's current ransom was judged to be at least $1.5 million (about 2.07 billion won). Swansea City reportedly held on to $2 million (about 2.76 billion won). Ace, that means that you will never lower the value of youth by yourself and sell it at a 'whole price'. Um Ji-sung is from Kumho High School in Gwangju and made his professional debut in 2021 wearing a Gwangju uniform. He has been playing only in Gwangju for four seasons. In the 2024 season, Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo is in charge of creative attack development by moving between the front line and the second line. Um Ji-sung, who has played in the national team by age, also received attention from the Major League Soccer (MLS) last year.
A tense tug-of-war ensued. In the end, the club consulted 'direct negotiations'. A Gwangju official asked Swansea City for direct negotiations and made an oral promise to fly to the UK for face-to-face negotiations. The mood has changed. The club decided to actively respect the player's will and support Um Ji-sung's dream on a grand scale.
Earlier, Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo completely excluded Um Ji-sung from the home game against Jeju United on June 30. He said "You can think of it as a choice for the players who are leaving and the players who are left." After the game "We have 18 more games to play. I thought about whether to watch this one game or challenge myself in playing the league. The player is also going overseas, so I took it out boldly in case there were any injuries." In fact, with Um Ji-sung's transfer in mind, he set it as 'Out-of-Power Player'. At that time, Um Ji-sung watched the game from the stands.
Meanwhile, Um will become the second Korean player to play for Swansea City after Ki Sung-yueng (FC Seoul). Ki Sung-yueng is known to have strongly recommended Um Ji-sung to Swansea City.
epi17@sportschosun.com
