AG Why don’t players with military service benefits go to big European clubs? Reality is colder than you think

It seems that the athletes who won gold medals at this month’s Hangzhou Asian Games will receive special military service exemption and be able to go straight to Europe, but the reality is different from expectations. After the tournament, rumor posts like ‘○○○ received an offer from a European big league club’ continued to appear in the soccer community and SNS. Midfielder Jeong Ho-yeon (Gwangju) is a representative example. The fact that Jeong Ho-yeon is a new target for Celtic, a ‘cold club’, is accepted as an established fact. After checking directly with the player, it was ‘unfounded’. It is true that Celtic officials visited Gwangju’s home stadium to observe Jeong Ho-yeon and Uhm Uhm-seong (Gwangju) in the first half of this season, but there was no contact whatsoever after the Asian Games, the official explained. Another official familiar with European news said that Celtic, who already have three Korean players, Oh Hyun-kyu, Yang Hyun-joon, and Kwon Hyuk-gyu, are unlikely to recruit additional Korean players. He explained that Celtic plans to recruit additional Asian players, but that the position they need right now is wing defense, not midfield.

Heroes of the Korea-Japan match finals Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon), flankers Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), Hwang Jae-won (Daegu), and midfielders Ko Young-jun (Pohang) were also caught up in rumors of heading to Europe. The specific club names also appeared: Jo Young-wook from Hamburg in the German Bundesliga, and wild card Seol Young-woo from Premier League Everton. Rumors, interest, and offers from as long as several years ago, or as close as several months ago, seem to have been rekindled after the Asian Games. When checking with the player and the club, no new recruitment moves are detected. As the recognition of the Asian Games gold medalist has increased significantly, expectations for advancement into Europe have also grown, and in this process, it is analyzed that rumors with unclear facts have been created.

An official from the Asian Games gold medalist’s side said, “As such rumors and reports continue to emerge, I am worried that the athlete will believe that he can go to Europe right away.” An official from a local club said, “Contrary to what is going around, there are no European offers. First of all, getting selected for the national team is the order of the day.”

The Asian Games are not a competition recognized by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA). In the case of this year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, the age of players was limited to under 24, but most teams except Korea had players aged 21 to 22. Priority was given to the ‘experience’ of young players. Unlike the U-17 World Cup and U-20 World Cup, where scouts from Europe’s big leagues gather, the Asian Games are not a competition that scouts keep a close eye on. The general consensus is that no matter how explosive a player is at the Asian Games, it is not easy to attract the attention of Celtic, Hamburg, and Everton.스포츠토토

However, it is true that obstacles to advancing into Europe have disappeared due to military service exemption. Multiple officials in the transfer market predicted that if the player lowers his expectations and his club does not demand an unreasonable transfer fee, there is a possibility that a deal will be concluded this winter.