K League All-Star Bae Jun-ho (20, Daejeon Hana Citizen) is expected to leave for Stoke City of the English Professional Soccer Championship (2nd Division).
On August 23, the British ‘Football League World’ reported, “Stoke City is negotiating with Bae Jun-ho based on preliminary discussions. They are close to signing him.”
‘Football League World’ specializes in the English second to fourth division. According to the report, Stoke City have reached an agreement in principle with Daejeon Hana Citizen and Bae Jun-ho’s representatives and are in the process of finalizing the details of the deal.
Daejeon Hana Citizen’s Bae Jun-ho celebrates after scoring during the 2023 K League 1 home match against FC Seoul. Photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association
The English summer transfer market closes on September 2. 먹튀검증“Bae is seen as a resource who can bring a different kind of attacking talent (to Stoke City’s other players) in the Final Four,” according to Football League World.
“Final third” refers to the area of the soccer field ⅓ of the way from the opponent’s goal. “Bae’s ability to play across three positions in support of the frontline forwards will go a long way to increasing Stoke City’s attacking flexibility,” according to Football League World.
As an all-round second-choice player who can play on the left wing and attacking midfield as well as in the center of the field, he is expected to excel in England’s second tier.
“Stoke City recognize his potential to become a key part of the squad,” added Football League World.
The 2023-24 English Second Division will be broadcast live in Korea on Coupang Play. “It’s an untapped market from a Championship perspective,” said Football League World. The signing of Bae Junho is encouraging and encouraging,” adding that they expect commercial expansion into South Korea.
Bae helped South Korea finish fourth in the round of 16 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 with one goal and three assists in four games. He averaged 84.0 minutes in the tournament, good for 1.07 offensive points per 90 minutes.
In the U-20 World Cup quarterfinals, Bae dominated matchup partner Mattia Chanotti (Inter Milan). He dominated the eighth-ranked team in the 2023-24 UEFA Club Rankings with his individual skills.
Bae was named the best winger on both the left and right wings in the 2023 U-20 Football World Cup Positional Power Rankings by ESPN Latin America and South American OTT service ST★R+.
ESPN Latin America and ST★R+ share the same parent company, The Walt Disney Company, the world’s largest media company. Bae Junho was also included in the list of “20 people to watch after the U-20 World Cup” by French broadcaster Canal Fleur.
On July 27, the Korean professional soccer all-star Team K League won its 2023 Coupang Play Series home match against Atletico Madrid (Spain), ranked 16th in the European club rankings, 3-2. Bae Jun-ho played the first half as the starting attacking midfielder.
Atletico head coach Diego Simeone (53-Argentina) named Bae as his most impressive Team K League player. He was recognized by the European Union of Sports Journalists (UEPS) as the best football coach of 2011-12.