You’ve left a big hole. It was a concern from the start.
FC Seoul’s Ahn Ik-soo-ho will play his first game since the end of his loan spell with national team striker Hwang Eui-jo. Seoul will host Daejeon Hana Citizen in the 20th round of the Hana One Q K League 1 2023 at 7:30 p.m. next month at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Seoul has signed Hwang Eui-jo, who played as a regular top forward in the first half, on a 30-day loan deal. He said goodbye to his supporters on Sept. 24, immediately after the team’s Round 19 away match against Suwon Samsung (Seoul won 1-0).
Hwang has since been unexpectedly caught up in a “personal life revelation scandal,” but he is determined to return to his original club, English Premier League (EPL) side Nottingham Forest, to explore his future as planned. However, it is unclear if he will be able to join Nottingham’s pre-season camp and compete for a regular spot in the squad 먹튀검증 and re-establish his place in the big leagues. Nottingham have established forwards in Chris Wood and Tywar Owenii. Add to that the fact that Hwang is reportedly in talks with Nottingham over terms and conditions.
If he can’t stay with Nottingham, Hwang is considering a move to another club in Europe or a loan. “My first goal is to get back to Europe. If that happens, he could return to Seoul to play the rest of the season. Ahn hopes to keep Hwang Ui-jo, who has been a key part of his tactics this season, until the end.
We’ll have to wait until July to find out. For now, Seoul will have to learn to survive without him, starting with Daejeon, followed by a trip to Jeonbuk Hyundai on Aug. 8 and a home game against Suwon FC on Aug. 12.
Foreigner Ilyuchenko, who has been out of form for much of the first half of the season, has been dropped from Plan A. So Ahn sighs, saying he has “no alternative” when it comes to parting ways with Hwang Ui-jo.
The concern with Hwang’s absence was raised before the season: if he performs well, it’s great, but if he leaves the team after his loan ends, there’s no replacement, which poses a huge risk. Most clubs don’t favor short-term loans for the first half of the season for this reason. The second half of the season can be used to strengthen the team, but if the player only plays the first half of the season and leaves, the team will be weakened.
For now, Ahn has a Plan B centered around Park Dong-jin, who is the backup to Hwang Eui-jo.
Seoul has 32 points (9 wins, 5 draws, 5 losses), two points behind the second-place Pohang Steelers (34 points). They are still in contention for the top two spots. If they don’t overcome the Hwang Eui-jo risk, they could easily be overtaken by fourth-place Jeju United (29 points) and fifth-place Gwangju FC (28 points). That’s why it’s crucial to prepare for the big game.
