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South Korea’s Lee Kang-in for PSG. (Credit: Twitter)
Lee joined the French champions from Spanish side Mallorca in the summer for a reported 22 million euros ($23.5 million) but was ruled out last month for four weeks with a thigh injury.
South Korea’s Asian Games football coach voiced frustration Thursday at Paris Saint-Germain’s failure to release key attacking midfielder Lee Kang-in with the competition just days away.
Lee joined the French champions from Spanish side Mallorca in the summer for a reported 22 million euros ($23.5 million) but was ruled out last month for four weeks with a thigh injury.
South Korea coach Hwang Sun-hong told reporters at the National Football Center in Paju that the 22-year-old has “mostly recovered” but it remains unclear when he will join the squad.
Ugh. Lee Kang In with a quad injury that puts him out til mid September… which is when Asian Games starts rolling in. https://t.co/6Kj6qIdV5c— Korean Footballers (@KoreaFootAbroad) August 22, 2023
South Korea’s bid for a third straight men’s football gold begins on Tuesday when they face Kuwait at the Games in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
“I’ve been in touch with Kang-in personally and he wants to join us as soon as possible,” Hwang said.
“But our discussions with PSG regarding the timing of his joining doesn’t appear to be progressing smoothly, so I feel frustrated.”
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“PSG were supposed to let us know by around the 13th (Wednesday), including updates on whether Kang-in’s injury has fully healed,” Hwang added.
“However, we haven’t received an official response yet (on when he will join the squad), which leaves me somewhat frustrated.”
🚨🇰🇷| PSG will give a final answer today on Kang-in Lee’ participation at the Asian Games, as per their coach. As per officials close to the Korean Football Association, PSG will release Kang-in Lee for the Asian Games 2023 after South Korea’s Group-stage fixtures. @naver_sports pic.twitter.com/a587IY2ezW— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) September 13, 2023
Paris Saint-Germain announced the signing of Lee Kang-in from RCD Mallorca this summer as a part of their overhaul and rebuild process under new manager Luis Enrique.
The 22-year-old, who formerly came through the ranks at Valencia, opted to take his talents to the French capital oionce the opportunity arose where the South Korea international signed a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 champions.
Kang-in was brought in to the side in anticipation of PSG’s premier forward Kylian Mbappe leaving the club, but regardless, he now finds himself in the position to not just play like Messi, but work towards replacing him in the club after the Argentine decided to part ways and join MLS side Inter Miami this summer.
The pressing issue in South Korea’s case now though is that football squads for the Games are restricted to under-24 players but they can also have three over-age players.
Son Heung-min spearheaded South Korea to gold in 2018 but the Tottenham Hotspur forward is not involved this time, putting even more onus on Lee.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
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