Towering striker eyes European football

Ulsan Hyundai FC striker Kim Shin-wook celebrates after scoring an extra-time goal during an FA Cup round of 16 game against Daejeon Citizens at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on June 24. With Kim’s decider, Ulsan beat Daejeon 3-2. / Yonhap

By John Duerden

Every summer needs a transfer saga but there is not that much happening in South Korea at the moment. There are just not that many players ready to head to the big leagues at the moment, with the possible exception of one and that is Kim Shin-wook. One of Asia’s top strikers may be leaving Ulsan Horang-i.

The giant striker may well have departed the Land of the Morning Calm in the January transfer window, the other time of the year when the world's clubs do the vast majority of their deals had he not been injured. His ankle problem came in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games as he helped Korea win the gold. In doing so, he received exemption from his military service, something that has made a move to Europe much more likely.

There has been overseas interest in Kim for some time as you would expect from one of the top strikers in the K-League for the past few years. Along with Lee Dong-gook, Kim has been the Korean name near the top of the goalscoring charts since 2011.

The almost two-meter tall target man has not yet been able to bring his goalscoring touch from club to country as four goals from 32 appearances suggest. He has, however, only played six full games for the Taegeuk Warriors and has often been used as a late substitute as the team has looked for goals partly due to his height as the coach started to run out of ideas.

In recent appearances, it was clear that Kim was improving for his country. At the World Cup in 2014, Kim came in as things started to go badly for the team and he didn't do too badly at all. It was more evidence of his growing maturity and the fact that he was not just the two dimensional two meters tall trouble-maker that some once thought he was.

Still, his height does catch the eye of European, especially English clubs. There have been rumors in the English media that Premier League with move to Leicester City, owned by a Thai company, the story finding most favor though the club signed Japanese striking star Shinji Okazaki last week. Many believe that Kim would do well for such a team, one that is content to avoid relegation, would give him a decent amount of time to settle in and would be happy to have another Asian star.

According to the player’s agent, there has been no official interest so far from English Premier League clubs. There is still plenty of time for this to happen. There have, however, been concrete enquiries from teams in England's second tier. This is a highly competitive league in its own right and is the sixth most-watched league in the world, in terms of average attendance. Still, Kim should be setting his sights higher. He has apparently ruled out a move to Japan or the more lucrative Middle East _ it is Europe where he wants to play as he told reporters on Saturday. It is there or stay in Korea. Something could materialize in the next few weeks. Kim deserves it, he has developed into one of the K-League’s most consistent performers in recent years. Soon he may get a chance to prove what he can do on the biggest of stages.