After graduating from high school at the age of 18 (2019), he joined the domestic professional soccer team Suwon Samsung, and the following year, he enlisted as a managing director in Gimcheon.
This is the track record of Oh Hyun-gyu (22), the next-generation center forward of the national soccer team. Oh Hyun-gyu went to Celtic from Suwon. Transfer fee 3 million euros (approximately 4 billion won). This is an amount that is difficult for a Korean player going to Europe for the first time to record. The contract period with Celtic is also 5 years. It means that Celtic has the confidence to sell ‘4 billion won + α’ within 5 years. If the reports and announcements about the transfer fee and contract period are true, Oh Hyun-kyu’s treatment can be said to be very good.
Recently, a striker who doubles as a playmaker is the trend. On the other hand, Hyungyu Oh has a reckless style full of strength. His playing style is not trendy, but his rarity increases as long as his skills are good. The more attackers with different personalities and types, the more diversified his attack routes are. A variety of attacking routes are a prerequisite for a team whose goal is to win, not draw, like Celtic, to become stronger.
Oh Hyun-kyu’s high transfer fee was possible because he had solved his military service. Oh Hyun-kyu did not wait for the Asian Games or the Olympics. Even at the age of one, he believed that solving the problem of military service at a young age would help him advance abroad. Choi Won-chang, a pro from the Suwon club, said, “Oh Hyun-kyu voluntarily decided to enlist as a Sangmu.”
Most of the Korean players went to Europe in an unfinished state. The transfer fee is low and the contract period is inevitably short. While in Europe, he was chosen as a representative for the Asian Games and Olympics, and hung up on receiving military service benefits. If that goes well, the ransom will skyrocket. Like Hwang Hee-chan and Son Heung-min. Conversely, if you miss that opportunity, it’s a ‘blowout’. Even if you come to Korea in your late 20s and solve the military service problem, it is difficult to find a European club that will accept you. 메이저사이트
Japanese players are active in overseas expansion. There are 98 Japanese players playing in the top 5 countries of European football. In addition, there are Japanese players in Switzerland, Turkey, Sweden, Slovakia, Serbia, Scotland, Romania, Poland, Montenegro, Lithuania, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Brazil, Argentina, and the Netherlands without fail. Eiji Yoshizaki, a freelance reporter for Japanese soccer, said, “The transfer fee recorded by Japanese players for the first time when they go to Europe is low.” Transfer fees for young Japanese players who went to Europe around 2000 range from 500,000 to 1 million dollars.
On the other hand, Korean players are relatively passive about going to Europe. The club also refuses to transfer if the transfer fee is not high, citing ‘cheap price controversy’. Players also want to remain in the ‘safe’ K-League, where they can play relatively comfortably and be treated if they judge that the annual salary offered by European clubs is not high. Currently, there are only 50 Korean players playing in the top 5 countries of European football. The number of countries where it has entered is also smaller than Japan. The portion of Asian and Middle Eastern music is higher than that of Japan. It means that there are many cases of chasing leagues and teams with relatively high salaries compared to the league level or easy competition rather than aspirations to challenge Europe.
I hope Oh Hyeon-kyu, who has been preparing for Europe since he was young, will thrive. I want to see him go to a bigger league and a bigger club with a higher transfer fee. Wouldn’t that change the way our young players and professional clubs think?