Son Heung-min is out, Yang Min-hyuk is out. Is there 0 Premier Leaguers? Will this be the greatest event in 20 years

Aug 06, 2025

Son Heung-min is out, Yang Min-hyuk is out. Is there 0 Premier Leaguers? Will this be the greatest event in 20 years



There may be no Korean players in the upcoming Premier League (EPL) season.

For the past two decades, since Park joined Manchester United in 2005, the EPL has been a weekend haven for Korean soccer fans. This is because if you turn on the EPL broadcast, whether it's on TV or smartphone, Korean players came out. Starting with Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo, Seol Ki-hyun, Lee Chung-yong, Ki Sung-yueng, Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, the Korean Premier Leaguer lineage continued steadily.

As Son Heung-min, who has been in charge of Tottenham for the past decade, leaves, there may be an unfamiliar situation where no Korean player is in the EPL. First of all, Yang Min-hyuk, a junior directly under Son Heung-min, is likely to rent ahead of the upcoming season. Tottenham put Yang Min-hyuk on the loan list, and Yang Min-hyuk also decided to gain experience through loan rather than difficult first-team competition.
Son Heung-min is out, Yang Min-hyuk is out. Is there 0 Premier Leaguers? Will this be the greatest event in 20 years
Tottenham Son Heung-min is taking a picture with his teammates in the match between Tottenham and Newcastle at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 3rd. Sangam = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.03/
Park Seung-soo, who moved to Newcastle United, remains in the team unlike Yang Min-hyuk, but is not the first team right away. Grows on the Under-21s (U-21) team. EPL has no problem with Park Seung-soo playing in the Newcastle first team due to his relaxed registration regulations, but it is very unlikely that Newcastle, which is emerging as a strong player in the league, will give Park time to play.




Brentford's Kim Ji-soo also left on loan to Germany for his first-team experience. The only player left is Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton. Hwang Hee-chan is likely to stay because there have been no specific transfer rumors so far, but the problem is Hwang Hee-chan's worried position. Hwang Hee-chan, who was the most sluggish since joining Wolverhampton last season, has lost his position to the point of being criticized by fans.
Son Heung-min is out, Yang Min-hyuk is out. Is there 0 Premier Leaguers? Will this be the greatest event in 20 years
Son Heung-min and Yang Min-hyuk hug in the match between Tottenham and Newcastle at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 3rd. Sangam = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.03/
Hwang Hee-chan is hardly being used during the pre-season. He has hardly been able to play as a main player. The point of entry into the replacement will also be with prospects who have just come up to the first team. Hwang Hee-chan seems to have been erased a lot by Wolverhampton coach Vitor Pereira. Hwang Hee-chan may choose to change at the end of the transfer market because it will be a big problem if he fails to secure time to play ahead of the World Cup.

If Hwang Hee-chan leaves Wolverhampton, it will be a season without Korean Premier Leaguers unless Kim Min-jae or Lee Kang-in suddenly join the EPL club. It will be the first time since Park joined Manchester United. It is good that young players are growing up in EPL clubs, but it is not very good to see that the main players are not in EPL clubs.

It is also evidence that the gap is large between Son Heung-min's generation born in 1992 and Hwang Hee-chan's generation born in 1996. The reality is that there are no players born in the late 1990s to the early 2000s who consistently play in the big leagues except for Lee Kang-in. By the time he retires from the national team until the 1996 generation, there is a concern that the power of Korean soccer will be greatly weakened. Young players like Yang Min-hyuk have no choice but to lean on the fast-developing side.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.