"Still coordinating" Swansea transfer confirmed or undecided? 'Hot Guy'S silence → Why Director Lee Jung-hyo was excluded completely

Jul 01, 2024

'Still coordinating' Swansea transfer confirmed or undecided? 'Hot Guy'S silence → Why Director Lee Jung-hyo was excluded completely
photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association



'Still coordinating' Swansea transfer confirmed or undecided? 'Hot Guy'S silence → Why Director Lee Jung-hyo was excluded completely
photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association
What will happen to Um Ji-sung (22, Gwangju FC). Um Ji-sung is Gwangju's ace raised by the Gwangju club. A native of Kumho High School in Gwangju, he 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. According to the soccer community, the club reportedly agreed to send it to Europe at the time if it had an opportunity to enter Europe.

The opportunity I dreamed of came. Um recently received an offer from Swansea City in the English professional football championship (second division). Swansea City manager Luke Williams is said to strongly want Thumbs up. Um Ji-sung is desperate to expand overseas. He has always dreamed of entering Europe. In particular, as he is about to join the military, he considers this 'Love Call' as his last opportunity to advance into Europe.

Some even say that the agreement between the two clubs is over. However, as of the 1st, the exact state is 'Tuning'. A club official said "It is right that they are negotiating on the premise of a transfer in a big way. However, there are parts to be coordinated, such as transfer fees and options. It is right to express that it is still being coordinated." Swansea City originally offered $750,000 (about 1.03 billion won) as a transfer fee to Umji Castle. The Gwangju club judged that it was an absolutely unacceptable amount.



'Still coordinating' Swansea transfer confirmed or undecided? 'Hot Guy'S silence → Why Director Lee Jung-hyo was excluded completely
photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association
'Still coordinating' Swansea transfer confirmed or undecided? 'Hot Guy'S silence → Why Director Lee Jung-hyo was excluded completely
'Still coordinating' Swansea transfer confirmed or undecided? 'Hot Guy'S silence → Why Director Lee Jung-hyo was excluded completely
The tug of war between the two sides continues. Gwangju seems to have judged Um Ji-sung's current ransom to be at least $1.5 million (about 2.07 billion won). Swansea City is known to hold 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'. Swansea City has increased its amount to $1.2 million (about 1.31 billion won) after 950,000 dollars (about 1.65 billion won).

Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "My head is complicated. Um Ji-sung is the team's ace this season. Moreover, Gwangju is in a difficult situation to recruit this summer due to fiscal consolidation issues. Nevertheless, coach Lee is said to have allowed the transfer for the future of the player.



Lee completely ruled out Um Ji-sung in a 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'.





epi17@sportschosun.com