“Do well in the second half of the K League and come to us”
Tottenham boss calls on Yang Min-hyuk, 18, to be consistent.
Tottenham head coach Enzi Postecoglou gave the 18-year-old some much-needed advice after the team’s 4-3 win in the first leg of the Coupang Play Series at Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 31.
Yang Min-hyuk will play in a K League Gangwon jersey until this season. He will then move to Tottenham next winter.
Yang and Spurs have already finalized a deal. The two sides signed the contract on the 28th of last month. The contract runs until June 2030.
The Tottenham vs. Team K League match was a “Tottenham showcase” for Yang Min-hyuk.
Yang Min-hyuk, who met Tottenham as an opponent before officially joining the club, played on the left wing for Team K-League and impressed the Spurs players and coach Postecoglou with his sharp shooting and dribbling.
Yang Min-Hyuk threatened the Tottenham defense with his quick dribbling from the start of the game.
In the 22nd minute of the first half, with the score tied at 0-0, he received a pass in the middle of the field and, in a dynamic display, stripped the defense and drove forward. He streaked forward and laid off a pass for Yoon Do-Young, who cut in from the right flank. However, it didn’t lead to a scoring chance.
Then, in the 26th minute, on a counterattack, Yang Min-hyuk received a forward pass from Lee Dong-kyung and used his speed to advance into the box. He unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, but the ball didn’t find the back of the net.
In the 42nd minute, just before the end of the first half, Yang Min-hyuk received the ball and dribbled before passing it to Yoon Do-young, who was penetrating. However, the ball was blocked by the defense and lost its power.
After going into the half trailing 0-3, Team K-League made a number of substitutions at the start of the second half. Yang Min-hyuk was also sent to the bench.
Tottenham have been focusing on reorganizing the team under Postecoglou. Since his arrival last summer, Postecoglou has given a lot of opportunities to young players and favors young talent in the transfer market. This summer, he brought in Swedish and English talents Beribal and Archie Gray, respectively.
He also added Yang Min-hyuk, the K 토토사이트 League’s top “hot commodity” for the 2024 season.
Yang Min-hyuk joined Gangwon as a semi-professional on December 29 last year and quickly earned a spot in the starting lineup with his performances exceeding expectations. He started the opening match against Jeju United, becoming the youngest player in Gangwon’s history (17 years, 10 months, and 15 days old) to make an appearance, and he registered an assist just 35 seconds into his debut.
It didn’t take long for him to get a taste of goal himself. Yang became the second semi-professional scorer in history when he opened the scoring against Gwangju in the second round. He became the youngest goal scorer in club history and the youngest in K League 1 history. He has eight goals and four assists in 25 league games this season.
He is still in high school at Gangneung Jeil High School, but has already booked a move to Tottenham following his K League 1 sweep.
Postecoglou had one thing to say to Yang Min-hyuk.
“He (Yang) played well in the first half of the K League. The important thing is to continue his performance in the second half. It’s important for him to do his best for his current team (Gangwon),” he emphasized.
“How we will use him (Yang Min-hyuk) will be decided after he joins the team. For now, it’s important for him to finish the second half of the season (in the K League) well and join our team,” he reiterated.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)