The second Yang Min-hyuk excavation home gracious Samuel → Osei, young blood that the K League is paying attention to in 2025
Feb 10, 2025
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K League 1 of the 2025 season begins its journey on the 15th. It is the fastest opening ever. It is four days earlier than the 2022 (opening on February 19) when the Qatar World Cup was held. The Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) Tournament, FIFA Club World Cup, and EAFF E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) urged the opening of the K-League.
Yang Min-hyuk (Tottenham) was the top topic in the K-League last year. He took over the K League 1 as a high school student at Gangwon FC. He played in all 38 games and scored 12 goals and six assists. He won the Young Player Award for his overwhelming support. He moved to Tottenham with the K-League's performance and is currently on loan to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) to adapt to the English stage.
The birth of the second Yang Min-hyuk is also drawing attention. Ahead of the new season, notable young bloods have also finished preparing for their sorties. First of all, young players who have already been proven on the K-League stage are ready to show their growth to the next level.
Yoon Jae-seok made his debut in the K League 2 Cheonan last season and moved to Jeonnam through the summer transfer market. He was also nominated as a K League 2 Young Player with six goals and one assist in 29 games. This season, he will wear the uniform of K League 1 defending champion Ulsan. This time, Yoon Jae-seok will challenge the K League 1 Young Player Candidate.
Choi Woo-jin, who is in his third year as a professional, built a nest in Jeonbuk. In Incheon, he has played 31 games in the past two seasons, scoring one goal and five assists, showing off his offensive instincts even though he is a defender. Last year, he was surprisingly selected to the A national team and recognized for his potential. Choi Woo-jin is expected to be reborn as a next-generation defender who will help both sides of offense and defense in Jeonbuk.
Seo Jae-min, who is a K League 2 Young Player last season, will play in the Seoul E-Land uniform this season as well. Seo Jae-min will take the lead in the promotion challenge of Seoul E-Land this season with his unique smart movements and creative plays.
Prospects who received attention as semi-professional players last season will be reborn as true professionals this season. Kang Joo-hyuk of Seoul showed his presence by scoring one goal and one assist in 10 games last season. This season, he will energize the team with explosive breakthroughs and excellent finishing skills.
Jeonbuk Jin Tae-ho won the K4 League and the K4 League MVP last season, mainly playing for Jeonbuk B team (currently N team). In the 2024-2025 ACL2, he scored two goals and one assist to play on the Asian stage. Jin Tae-ho did not make his K-League debut last season. The goal is to show a versatile performance in the league this season.
Pohang Hong Seong-min, who is called the next-generation goalkeeper, has also been converted from semi-professional to professional. Hong Sung-min showed off his outstanding goal kick and sensational defense ability in national teams by age, including the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup and the U-17 World Cup. Now, he challenged himself on the professional stage.
Some players have achieved their dream of going straight to the professional league in line with the new K-League system that will be introduced from this season. The home-grown system considers a young player with foreign nationality as a domestic amateur team if he or she has been active for a certain period of time or longer, when registering as a K-League rookie. There is one quota per club.
Samuel is a Ivory Coast national, but he was born and raised in Korea and joined Seoul after graduating from Seoul U-18 Osan High School. He will challenge the professional stage with Seoul's new side resources this season with explosive speed and strong shooting.
Osei, a Ghanaian national, joined Daegu through a free contract. Osei has the advantage of being able to play in both wing forwards with his one-on-one breakthrough ability.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
