Podolski, Ko Young-joon, and Partizan leave and make a surprise transfer to Poland's prestigious Gurnick Zabze

Jun 14, 2025

Podolski, Ko Young-joon, and Partizan leave and make a surprise transfer to Poland's prestigious Gurnick Zabze



Podolski, Ko Young-joon, and Partizan leave and make a surprise transfer to Poland's prestigious Gurnick Zabze
'Golden Boy'Ko Young-joon (24) is taking on a new challenge.

An official familiar with the transfer market said, `Ko Young-joon will leave FK Partizin, Serbia, to move to Gurnik Zavze, Poland. There will be an announcement soon as the medical test is completed.'

Ko Young-joon made his European debut in January last year. Ko, who had been drawing attention from France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria, wore a Partizan uniform that had been showing interest since the summer of 2023. At that time, director Igor Dulyai sent a strong love call. He made a quick soft landing in the director's favor. He made his debut goal in his debut. However, it has since been quiet. He finished his first season in Europe with one goal in 19 matches, including the Cup.




Dulyai's replacement markedly reduced his position in the team. He mainly took the field as a substitute. He played in 23 matches, including the European Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, but played only 702 minutes in total. He had difficulty building offensive points in his back and forth appearances. He scored only one goal in a league game against Mladost in February this year.

Despite the ups and downs in Partizan, Ko's value did not change. Many clubs showed interest. Ko Young-joon sought a transfer from the transfer market in January, but failed to achieve his goal due to Partizan's opposition.

Podolski, Ko Young-joon, and Partizan leave and make a surprise transfer to Poland's prestigious Gurnick Zabze
He once again sought a transfer ahead of the summer transfer market. There was a strong courtship on the Asian side. The Middle East and especially K-League teams strongly wanted Ko Young-joon. It was no exaggeration to say that most big clubs wanted Ko Young-joon. However, there was still Europe in Ko's mind. I decided to continue my challenge in Europe because I was disappointed that I had not yet shown my skills in Europe.




Just in time, offers followed in some European clubs, of which Gurnick was the most active. Gurnick spent a long period of courtship. He sent specific proposals several times, instilling confidence in Ko Young-joon. In particular, the fact that Gurnick has a well-established transfer pipeline with major European leagues attracted Ko Young-joon, who aims to advance to the big leagues in the future.

Gurnick is a prestigious family of Polish extraclasa. He has won a total of 14 league titles. After Legia Warsaw (15 times), Poland's most prestigious team, the team has won the most championships. However, he has not won in 37 years since the 1987-1988 season. It was somewhat sluggish in the 2024-2025 season. It stayed in ninth place. Although he scored the fourth fewest goals in the league, he ranked 11th among 18 teams with 43 goals. This is why Gurnick wanted Ko Young-joon.

There is a player familiar to overseas soccer fans in Gurnick. Lucas Podolski, who was a key striker for the German national team, is playing. Podolski, a Polish-German dual national, returned to Europe via Turkiye Antalyaspor after Visselgobe, and moved to Gurnick in the summer of 2021. At the age of 40, he is still a key striker, scoring five goals last season. Second in the team?L was a goal.




Podolski, Ko Young-joon, and Partizan leave and make a surprise transfer to Poland's prestigious Gurnick Zabze
Podolski, Ko Young-joon, and Partizan leave and make a surprise transfer to Poland's prestigious Gurnick Zabze
After passing through Pohang Elementary School, Pohang Middle School, and Pohang High School, Ko Young-jun made his debut in Pohang's first division in 2020. He scored two goals and one assist in eight league games in his first season. The following year, it exploded in potential. He left three goals and two assists in 32 games in 2021 and six goals and four assists in 37 games in 2022. In 2023, he scored eight goals and one assist in 28 games. He showed strong performance despite a tight schedule between his team and the national team by age. In 2022, he also made his A-match debut under the choice of then coach Paulo Bento.

Ko Young-joon received foreign attention early on with his overwhelming performance. It was in the second half of 2023 that the current intensified. He participated in the Hangzhou Asian Games as a member of the Asian Games national team led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong at the time. Ko Young-joon played in the pre-tournament game and scored one goal and four assists. He took the lead in Korea's third consecutive Asian Games. Ko Young-joon, who received military service benefits due to his outstanding skills, has succeeded in entering Europe amid love calls from many teams.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.