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| Photo = Korean Professional Football League |
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It has been reported that Yoon Do-young, Korea's leading prospect, will soon complete his contract with Brighton.
Andy Naylor, a reporter from the global sports media The Athletic and familiar with Brighton news, reported on the 16th (Korea time) that Brighton is expected to complete recruiting Yoon Do-young.
Naylor said 'Yoon is due to fly to the UK on Sunday to complete his move. Brighton met the buyout clause and succeeded in reaching a personal agreement. A four-year contract is expected to be signed on condition that it passes medical testing on Monday.'
Then 'Yoon Do Young will follow the path of Kaoru Mitoma, who is on loan to Europe next season to build up enough points for the UK work permit. Mitoma spent one season on loan to the Belgian league after his move from Kawasaki Frontale. Yoon is considered one of Korea's top prospects along with Yang Min-hyuk, who moved to Tottenham last summer.
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| Photo = Korean Professional Football League |
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The possibility of Yoon Do-young's transfer to Brighton has appeared since January. Even then, Naylor is interested in recruiting Brighton Yoon Do-young. Yoon Do-young performed impressively as a member of Daejeon Hana Citizen in K League 1. He scored one goal and three assists in 19 games. Along with Yang Min-hyuk, who moved from Gangwon to Tottenham, Yoon Do-young is considered the best prospect in Korea. Brighton had consistently made a future-minded recruitment of young players in the January transfer window.
The British Mirror also mentioned EPL's interest in Yoon Do-young. The Mirror named Brighton and Aston Villa as clubs interested in Yoon Do-young. In recent weeks, basic discussions have been held over the transfer to the EPL. Brighton is said to be the current recruitment leader. This is because Brighton previously recruited Kaoru Mitoma and successfully recruited him in Asia. Chelsea are also scouting Yoon, while Wolverhampton has also reported interest in Yoon in recent months. Referring to Lee Kang-in's case, he paid attention to Yoon Do-young's transfer. The Mirror says 'Every transaction has an economic benefit. Last season, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) recruited Lee Kang-in after Lionel Messi left the team, and Lee Kang-in reportedly sold more uniforms than other players, including Kylian Mbappe. The number of Korean fans at the Parc des Princes stadium increased by 300%' Yoon Do-young also claimed that he can expect huge effects like Lee Kang-in.
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| Photo = Korean Professional Football League |
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Yoon Do-young, a prospect born in 2006, was one of the gems who shone in the K-League last season. Ahead of the 2024 season, he signed a semi-professional contract with Daejeon and appeared on the K-League stage. He played as a substitute in the 14th round of the league against Ulsan HD and broke the record of being the youngest player to play in Daejeon at the age of 17 years, 6 months, and 27 days. In September last year, he was selected to the U-20 national team led by head coach Lee Chang-won and scored two goals in the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifying round.
Interest in Yoon Do-young is bound to become even more of a hot topic as there have been recent cases in which he has already gone straight from the K-League to the EPL. This is the case of Yang Min-hyuk's transfer to Tottenham. Yang Min-hyuk, who played as the best young player in the K-League in the 2024 season, has already confirmed his transfer to Tottenham in July last year. Yang Min-hyuk, who finished the season in Gangwon Province on a loan basis after his transfer, quickly joined Tottenham in December last year at the request of Tottenham. Since then, he has been loaned to the Queens Park Rangers to gain experience.
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Brighton is one of the leading prospect development clubs in the EPL. Since Graham Potter's time as head coach, he has grown several prospects and sold them to EPL clubs, and there are cases where he has grown into a team lead. Representatively, Moises Caicedo moved from Brighton to Chelsea, recording the highest transfer fee ever in the EPL.
Even if he does not play in the first team immediately, he can aim for opportunities on a wider stage by moving to the EPL. Kim Ji-soo, who recently made his EPL debut, also failed to play in the first team immediately after moving to Brentford, but he later succeeded in making his youngest EPL debut after a season of adaptation. He even started in the FA Cup this season.
Yoon Do-young, who is considered the best talent born in 2006 along with Yang Min-hyuk, is about to transfer to the EPL. Another top Korean prospect will be able to watch him play in Europe.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
