The new season is upon us, and with a recent slew of direct transfers to Europe from the K League, we can now properly field a full European XI in every outfield position with some degree of depth in positions we’ve never had before. We have more KPAs in Europe than ever. Just like we did 2 years ago (2024-2025 was so unbelievably disappointing I didn’t even cover it), let’s go through our current KPA roster position by position:
Center Back: Once a major weakness of the KNT, now a major strength?
In prior seasons it was just Kim Min Jae carrying us. Now, Lee Han Beom and Kim Ji Soo have finally cemented themselves in their respective club teams’ starting XIs. Lee Kang Hee – previously known to me personally only through U23 games – transferred from the SECOND DIVISION K League side Gyeongnam FC straight into the starting lineup of the UEFA Conference League side Austria Wien. Even more better news: 18 year old rising CB star Kang Min Woo of Ulsan Hyundai just transferred to Jong Genk (the youth team of KRC Genk where Oh Hyeon Gyu plays), joining fellow starlet Kim Myung Jun. Not included in this post but more relevant to the KNT are solid CBs like Cho Yu Min and Kim Ju Sung (who sadly moved to Japan over Europe). I don’t know how we gained major CB depth in just the last few years, but I love it.
Lee Han Beom: the most pleasant surprise of the CB bunch in my eyes. His main competitor, Ousmane Diao, fell down the pecking order at Midtjylland late last season due to poor performances and Lee Han Beom has taken over his spot flawlessly. He has played full time all the Conference League qualifiers and in the league and is looking really good at the moment. Unless Hong Myung Bo is absolutely blind, Lee Han Beom – NOT Kim Ju Sung who defected to the J League rather than Europe – is Kim Min Jae’s CB partner on the NT right now. It’s perfect that Kim Min Jae is the aggressive off his line kind of CB while Lee Han Beom is more of a stable, playmaking CB with what seems to be better passing than KMJ (apples to oranges comparison between Denmark and Bayern but still).
Kim Ji Soo: after a season with Brentford B with a Premier League debut for Brentford FC in December during a CB injury crisis, KJS was loaned to Kaiserslautern and walked right into the starting XI as RCB and hardly put in a foot wrong. Plays more like Lee Han Beom than Kim Min Jae. Still just 20 years old, if he keeps up his performances in the 2.Bundesliga he should be able to lock in a starting spot for Brentford in the years to come.
Kim Min Jae: is in a bit of a predicament at the moment. Somehow, Bayern view Upamecano and Jonathan Tah as higher than KMJ in the pecking order, and want to offload Kim because a player making the salary KMJ takes home should not be on the bench. It also seems that Max Eberl, Bayern’s sporting director, is under extreme pressure to lower the wage bill and needs a high earning scapegoat to sell… and apparently Kim Min Jae perfectly fits that bill. German media is going off on him as usual days, saying he’s not good enough for Bayern, he’s surplus to requirements, and needs to leave.
This is very confusing to me. Jonathan Tah has been quite error prone and not so great this entire preseason, and last season KMJ outshone Tah in all the defensive statistics as well. Jonathan Tah is a fine CB, don’t get me wrong, and is a very different type of CB than KMJ (so from VK’s perspective would be a very welcome addition) but I feel insulted that the Bayern leadership think Tah is so clearly above our man that he needs to be sold. Bayern fans and German media have been especially toxic towards KMJ, and have consistenly been so the past two seasons, so personally I would love for KMJ to leave and win his third big 5 league title, but I’m reading that other clubs would have a hard time meeting his salary.
For the haters (Bayern fans and German media I’m talking to you) who say KMJ had a terrible season last year: dude played nearly the entire season injured and Kompany gave him ZERO rest. Also the way VK plays is ridiculously hard on the CBs, who usually operate in the opposition half, are expected to cover insane ground, and are completely exposed on their own with ZERO defensive mid cover (Kim Min Jae almost certainly misses playing alongside Stanislav Lobotka). You think Tah will be that much better in Kompany’s system? Try having Tah run the entire length of the Bayern half to catch a counterattacker, see what happens. Bayern fans expect their CBs to be perfectly error free, yet from what VK expects from his CBs I wonder if even prime Maldini might slip up here and there.
Best case scenario, Kim Min Jae starts most of Bayern’s games anyway. Given the past three preseason matches though, it doesn’t seem likely. Worst case scenario however, he rides the bench and we just hope that he’s fit enough to still be at his best for Korea. The more realistic scenario: VK rotates between KMJ and Tah as KMJ enables both the fullbacks to push up high and go all out attack, while Tah brings more balance as the central CB in a back three, sincce Tah does not have the pace to cover the ground that KMJ can.
Lee Kang Hee: a very interesting addition to our KPA lineup, made the impressive jump from K2 to Austria. Looked really good in preseason but then scored an own goal on the league opening day. I believe he will keep his starting place in Vienna though. Also, he can play DM – a huge plus in the KNT setup. Don’t think he’ll be called up anytime soon – we have enough depth at CB and perhaps even DM (crazy I’m saying this but read on and find out) to consider him – but here’s to hoping he continues to impress in Austria and grow as a footballer.
Fullbacks: Our weakest position on the KNT, but with reinforcements this season:
Seol Young Woo: always knew this man would make it in Europe, and make it he has (albeit in Serbia). 43 apps and 6 goals last season, he is one of Zvezda’s best players, a shoo in for their starting XI, and is the subject of transfer rumors to Championship side Sheffield United, a team expected to challenge for promotion. I am personally hoping he can do better than the Championship though, where we have way too many players already.
Lee Tae Seok: The LB position has been really sad since the days of Lee Young Pyo. When he retired we placed our hopes on Hong Chul and Yoon Suk Young. But neither lived up to the hype; Yoon Suk Young’s Europe career was cut very short. Kim Jin Su as well, seemed very promising but didn’t last in Europe. Park Joo Ho was great, but he was a late bloomer and got injured a lot. So this season, the news of Lee Tae Seok moving to Europe was extremely welcome and very much needed. He played really well after being subbed on at half time for Austria Wien, and I have a good feeling that he’ll be starting most of their games this season. I really hope he progresses and learns a lot in Europe because his KNT shifts have been OK but nothing stellar yet.
Jens Castrop? With the recent clearance for Castrop to play for the KNT, he would be a very welcome addition in either RB (perfect because Seol Young Woo can switch to LB) or DM. The question now is will he get playing time for Monchengladbach? Will he succeed in the Bundesliga like he did in the second division? He has mostly made sub appearances in preseason so hopefully he adapts quickly and fights his way into their XI soon.
Not included in this section would be RB Hwang Jae Won, who probably would be in Europe by now if it weren’t for my hometown club Daegu FC consistently rejecting every offer made by European teams…
Defensive midfield: previously my pick for the weakest KNT position; now with better depth here than in our fullbacks – but does Hong Myung Bo agree with me?
A bit on defensive midfield – it’s admittedly my favorite position. N’golo Kante to this day is my favorite non Korean footballer, and I’ve always thought it’s so satisfying to see a man singlehandedly destroy opponent plays like Park Ji Sung used to do. And in modern football a good DM is a must. Every good team either has a designated DM (see how crucial Rodri is to City) or a CM duo/trio that can cover enough ground and be physical enough to do a DM’s job (perfect example: PSG). Korea… has neither. The last time I think we had a good DM was probably Park Joo Ho converted from LB. Before that I guess Kim Jung Woo was okay? Jung Woo Young is way too error prone, Han Kook Young never lived up to his full potential, Park Yong Woo just isn’t good enough for the KNT. And when we play a Lee Jae Sung + Hwang In Beom midfield duo they are just not cut out for a #6 role, with both getting muscled off the ball way too easily and crumble under pressure.
This season though we have three new entries to the DM game: Kwon Hyeok Kyu, Jens Castrop, and Lee Kang Hee.
Kwon Hyeok Kyu: one of my personal favorite players, but somehow has never gotten around to properly kickstarting his Europe career yet. The funny thing about Kwon is that there’s a pattern:
- Starts very well and wins over the coach and fans
- Plays well for a while
- Gets injured
- Form drops off dramatically
At Celtic, he had a good preseason but never made it off the bench, prompting the loan to St. Mirren. He started very well at St. Mirren… then got injured. Next season he went to Hibernian.. and same story. Got injured, form dropped, didn’t play, and never got called up to the KNT.
This season he started preseason well for Nantes. He was arguably at fault for one of the goals Nantes conceded against Paris FC (falling to the ground from a shove that would be called in Korea but perhaps not in Europe, leaving the goalscorer wide open), but the fans and the coach have only said good things, and it seems he will be the starting DM going forward. If Kwon could stay not injured for once in his European career, he is REALLY overdue for a KNT callup by now, and in the best case scenario will be competing with Jens Castrop for a DM spot. To me Kwon seems more like a pure DM focused more on the defensive aspect of the game while Castrop is more of a hybrid #6/#8, an aggressive tackler in central midfield with good defensive contributions. I am really hoping and looking forward to seeing both of these players in KNT colors soon.
Jens Castrop and Lee Kang Hee were covered above, and not included in this post is one of the best DMs in Korea, Park Jin Seob. Jeonbuk Hyundai, under Gus Poyet (ugh) is running away with the K League right now leagues above every other team so far, and the stellar midfield trio of Park Jin Seob, Kang Sang Yoon, and Kim Jin Kyu (all recent KNT callups) are a big reason behind that success as well as the innovative for K League standards tactics of Gus Poyet who uses space and long balls very effectively. It’s kind of like 뻥축구, but actually effective. Anyway, I digress.
Central midfield: always with good depth, but lacking defensive grit
The funny thing about all our CMs – Hwang In Beom, Hong Hyeon Seok, Paik Seung Ho, Lee Jae Sung – is that they are far more offensively capable than defensively capable, which is probably why when they’ve been paired with each other our midfield gets overrun so easily under even the slightest pressure. That being said, they are doing remarkably well for their respective clubs:
Hwang In Beom is one of Feyenoord’s most important players. He is considered their best player by some Dutch commentators, and Robin van Persie even made him captain briefly in preseason. Hwang’s European career is progressing nicely and he is indispensable on the NT. Personally I think he should play CAM in a few years once the 33-year-old Lee Jae Sung retires, especially if Lee Kang In keeps playing RW.
Paik Seung Ho likewise is considered Birmingham’s best player as they push for back to back promotion into the Premier League. He had an insane Championship debut this past week. If his competition wasn’t Hwang In Beom, he would be a shoo-in for the KNT starting XI. I am SO glad that despite the FIFA ban back in 2015, Paik eventually found his place in Europe. As Lee Chun Soo always says, any player that gets the basics right – first touch and passing – will succeed in Europe. Paik is the embodiment of that.
Hong Hyeon Seok didn’t quite manage to break into the XI for Mainz (his competition includes Lee Jae Sung after all) so was loaned to FC Nantes alongside Kwon Hyeok Kyu. It is yet to be seen where he stands in the Nantes squad as he joined later than Kwon.
CAM: strong as always
Lee Jae Sung: picking up exactly where he left off last time around. 4 seasons, 131 appearances for Mainz. I do wonder for how long he can continue on with his usual high intensity play style at age 33. But he hasn’t dulled at all in the last few seasons and I expect more of his usual excellence this cycle.
Lee Kang In: is also in a bit of a predicament like Kim Min Jae. As we know, Lee was a regular in PSG’s starting XI early on in the campaign. But somehow Desire Doue went beast mode, Kvara joined pushing out even Bradley Barcola, Dembele decided to consistently play well, and PSG Fabian Ruiz turned into Spain Fabian Ruiz pushing out both LKI and WZE, all at the same time. PSG went on to become the undisputed top team in Europe and Lee of course, lost his spot. Judging from the last few games of the season, Lee seemed almost certain to exit with him not even coming off the bench most games. He even deleted PSG from his Instagram bio.
A transfer seemed inevitable but apparently Luis Enrique is insisting that Lee Kang In stay… because he needs quality off the bench. For the man favored to become the next Korean GOAT after Son Heung Min, I find this absolutely unacceptable. But with PSG blocking his transfer and three years left on his PSG contract, what can the man do but stay and fight for his spot? Reportedly Napoli, Manchester United, and Atletico Madrid were seriously interested in signing LKI and actively made inquiries to PSG, but were all shut down.
There are those who argue that PSG is an all time team right now, the kind you don’t just walk away from. They say that he will learn more playing a few games here and there for PSG than playing 30-40 games a season for Napoli ManU or Aston Villa. This argument only holds true if he actually plays a good amount in his preferred positions (not false 9 lol)… which I don’t know if he will barring numerous injuries. And hoping for PSG guys to get injured is unethical and uncool. Hence why I’m on the LKI should leave camp, but who knows maybe this will be LKI’s Son Heung Min’s post-first-season-at-Tottenham moment? Only time will tell – perhaps tomorrow’s Super Cup vs Tottenham and this weekend’s Ligue One opener against FC Nantes should provide some indication.
Hwang In Beom, Bae Jun Ho, and Hong Hyeon Seok could also play here but left in the CM or LW category for the purposes of this post.
Left Wing: even without Son Heung Min, perhaps our best position
Bae Jun Ho: Stoke City’s “South Korean King” (yes they call him their king) and my personal pick for Son Heung Min’s successor. He has had some incredible performances for the KNT last season and has done really well on the LW in SHM’s absence through injury. Playing time will not be a concern. There were some rumors that PSV were interested in signing him, but this seems like just a rumor for now. He is just too good for the Championship, I think.
Park Seung Soo: a major pleasant surprise of the season. Park Seung Soo’s own post is coming up soon, but long story short – he played really well K2 side Suwon Samsung Bluewings as as 17 year old, got signed by Newcastle this summer with intentions to start for their U21 side, played so well against the K League XI and Espanyol (he started that game) that he will be with the first team this season. Crazy stuff:
We should temper our expectations – he’s probably not going to be the next Lee Chung Yong who just walks on to a PL side and wins 2 POTY awards in a row (LCY was like the best player in the K League when he transferred; PSS is transferring WAY earlier) – but there is good reason to be excited here both from our perspective as well as Newcastle’s. We should be cautious too though, as a premature move like this and lack of game time could derail is career completely.
Hwang Hee Chan: this man really is an enigma. The definition of a streaky player, a hot and cold player, you name it. Depending on his mental state he can either score 11 goals in half a Premier League season, or contribute literally nothing for a whole year. Injuries have really not gone his way. But he plays really really well for the KNT every time he wears our colors, so no complaints here.
That being said he is viewed as surplus to requirements at Wolves, and there’s a good chance he will be exiting the team by the end of the month. It’s really too bad he didn’t end up signing for De Zerbi’s Marseille last year. I don’t know where he’ll end up (I really hope it’s not Birmingham), but wherever he ends up I hope he gets his head back in the game because when he’s on fire he can be a real asset to any team.
Yoon Do Young: signed by Brighton and Hove Albion straight from the K League earlier this summer, loaned straight to Excelsior (great choice). Making appearances off the bench for now, but expected as he is coming straight from Korea. Give him time, he will do well.
Eom Ji Sung: had a really good start to his career at Swansea – fans loved this guy – but then he got injured and his form fell off (noticing a theme here). He has though regained his starting position this season, and we’ll see if he can start this year as well as he did the last.
Right Wing: not as strong as the left wing but HMB really likes Lee Kang In here so…
Yang Hyun Jun: fighting for a starting XI spot at Celtic
Jeong Woo Young: fighting for a starting XI spot at Union Berlin
Yang Min Hyeok: after a decent loan spell at QPR, has been loaned again to Portsmouth. Will be fighting for a starting XI spot there.
Kim Min Su: can play anywhere across the front three, loaned to FC Andorra in the Segunda Divison from Girona, where he made his La Liga debut last season. Not yet ready for the KNT, but a great prospect to watch for the future.
CF: same as last season
Oh Hyeon Gyu: has fought his way into the Genk starting XI and is looking like the most in form of our three European based strikers. Problem is, Genk is not nearly as good as they once were. They used to be title contenders and finished third place. Not sure what’s going on this season but now they’re in relegation zone with 1 point after 3 games. I don’t think much of the blame goes to Oh here, but Genk will need to stabilize soon for OHG to play at his best for the KNT.
Cho Gue Sung: was out for over a year from injury, all the way back in May 2024, but as of last month he finally is training again, though he hasn’t stepped onto the pitch just yet. This meme tells the whole story:
Lee Young Jun: honing his craft at Grasshopper Zurich, probably won’t be called up to the KNT any time soon but at just 22 years of age hopefully he will join the NT picture soon.
And that’s a wrap for our Korean footballers abroad. Let us know your predictions and anyone we missed in the comments!
Thank you for this wonderful breakdown. I appreciate the summaries and yet important pieces of information for each player.
Very good work.
Fantastic post! Thank you! Hoping for a successful season for all our men and a smooth transition into the 2026 World Cup
What about Lee Hyun-ju? I know he just moved to Arouca in Portugal from Bayern this season.
he was on loan to 2.Bundesliga clubs for two seasons straight while technically at Bayern. He did okay but I’m not sure if he’s 100% NT relevant despite having made an appearance before. Because we have so many wingers I didn’t add him on this list, but we still wish him well and will be following him closely! I hope I am wrong.