Germany
Ryu Seung Woo (Eintracht Braunschweig) – Struggling for playing time. 2 mediocre sub appearance & surprising start against RB Leipzig where he played very poorly. He was subbed off in 36th min for missing a clear cut chance on goal and for tactical reason as he was a liability in defense.
Park Jung Bin (Karlsruher SC) – Recently returned from injury but like Ryu, he too is struggling to make the match day squad. Pre-season had him competing for RW/RM position with Manuel Torres but the Spaniard has clearly taken off this season. Park Jung Bin wasn’t helped by KSC strengthening LW/LM through purchasing Hiroki Yamada just before the season started.
Choi Kyoung Rok (FC St Pauli) – Performing admirably for FC St Pauli II. He recently scored against undefeated HSV II in Nord Derby.
Kim Dong-Su (HSV II) – Consistent starter for undefeated HSV II in defense. His performance is earning him rave reviews and even tipped to make an appearance with HSV senior team at some stage (helped by HSV promoting HSV II manager as full time senior manager).
Roan Kwon (HSV II) – Zero appearance for him thus far. Difficult to find any info on his status but considering he featured often last season for HSV U-19, I’m going to guess he is currently injured.
Kim Jin Su (FC Augsburg II) – Few late sub appearance for Kim Jin Su.
Jo Il Young, Oh Se Jun, Oh Min Taek, Lee Hee Sung (Werder Bremen III) – Jo Il Young is 18 yr old GK, Oh Se Jun is 19 yr old FB/Winger, Oh Min Taek is 19 yr old CM/Winger and Lee Hee Sung is 21 yr old Winger/Forward. Oh Se Jun recently joined KNT U-20 team for AFC U-19 tournament. Of the 4 players, Oh Min Taek seems to be the most promising one as he often starts for Werder III.
Spain
Kiu (UD Almeria B) – He recently joined KNT U-20 team for U-19 AFC tournament. Before he joined the national team, he was busy playing for UD Almeria B and occasionally training with UD Almeria 1st team.
Kim Woo Hong (Deportivo La Coruna B) – Consistent starter for Deportivo La Coruna B as RW/LW. He notched a goal and has few assists so far.
Ji Eon Hak & Yun Jae Yong (AD Alcocorn B) – Ji Eon Hak made a surprise start for AD Alcocorn in a Cup match. Since then, he has consistently featured for AD Alcocorn B and even scored a goal recently. Yun recently returned from injury.
Lee Kang In (Valencia Infantil A) – I’ll briefly cover Lee Kang In’s current situation (Jinseok’s the Tavern expert on highly rated youth prospects). Being compared to David Silva by Spanish/Valencia media, he currently wears #10 and plays like one for Valencia Infantil A.
How did Roan Kwon do last year for HSVII last season?
He played for HSV U-19 last season. As for how he performed, hmm.. he started few games but he was often a sub in 2nd half. When Roan and Kim Dong Su joined HSV, Roan was the highly rated prospect & was seen as the next “Son” (HSV and Bochum were battling for his signature). Kim Dong Su on the other hand didn’t feature at all last season for HSV U-19…
Do you guys know whether Japan has as many prospects as Korea does? I feel like theres a lot to look forward to and surely Japan has their own version of Lee Seungwoo?
In terms of Japanese youth in Foreign/European leagues? No, not as many as Korea. However, Japan do have some talented youth in Europe. Most notable ones are Takefusa Kubo (Barcelona, Lee Kang In’s age), Cy Goddard (Tottenham), Mitsuru Maruoka (18yr old, made his debut with Dortmund already), and so forth.
hmm I wonder why 18 year old Maruoka made his debut yet and Ji hasn’t…
Just the way things have unfolded. Maruoka is a central mid, an area where Dortmund is currently missing many players. Plus he’s been with the team since last winter (BVBII), so he’s more familiar with Dortmund. Ji has been injured for a good part of the time since the season began, and is still adjusting to the team. Plus Klopp has been able to put out players who have more experience in the attacking part (Ramos, Immobile, Aubameyang, Mhkitaryan, Grosskreutz, Kagawa).
yeah, he may have made his debut but its a debut after being with the club since last year, don’t think Ji has much to worry about 🙂