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| Suk Hyun-jun shows his thumbs up, wearing the FC Porto uniform. / Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Korean international striker Suk Hyun-jun has joined prestigious Portuguese club FC Porto.
The club said Friday that Suk, 24, is its latest reinforcement after he signed a contract valid until June 30, 2020, with a release fee of 30 million euros ($32.6 million). Further details were not disclosed, but Vitoria de Setubal, Suk's former Portuguese club, reportedly demanded some 1.5 million euros for the transfer.
Suk told Yonhap News Agency that: "I want to score. FC Porto is one of the clubs that I have been dreaming of and I'm so proud to stand here today.
"I won't let down my fans and coaches and will do my best to help the club become champions."
Suk, listed at 190 centimeters and 83 kilograms, has been showcasing explosive moves this season, scoring 11 goals in 20 matches for Setubal. In league matches, he scored nine goals and had seven assists.
The transfer is the biggest move for the nomadic Suk, who has moved around seven European teams since 2010.
In the late 2000s to the early 2010s, along with Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min, Suk has garnered interest as a prospect. After knocking on the door of Ajax in 2009 as a youth player, he signed a contract with the Dutch powerhouse and debuted in the league in the 2010-11 season.
While Son took steps to stardom, Suk spent an unsuccessful stint in the Netherlands. After being released from Ajax, he moved to Groningen in the Eredivisie the following season, but failed to make an impression. He eventually arrived in Portugal, joining Maritimo in the 2012-13 season. He scored four goals in 14 games for Maritimo, but moved to Al Ahli Jeddah in Saudi Arabia before the 2013-14 season, sparking concerns that he had given up his Europe bid.
But in the 2014-15 season, Suk managed to return to Portugal, playing for CD Nacional and scoring five goals in 19 games. During the season, Suk joined Setubal and piled up five more goals, raising expectations that he had adjusted to the league. Boosted by solid numbers in the previous season, appearing in 40 games and scoring 10 goals, he ended his five-year exile from the Korean national squad in September and has scored twice in five World Cup qualifiers.
Suk has so far appeared in 74 games in Portugal, scoring 25 goals and making seven assists.
FC Porto is one of the giants of European football and boasts an illustrious history in the Primeira Liga. Since 1893, the club has clinched 27 regular season titles, the second highest following SL Benfica. Notably, the club completed its 2010-11 season unbeaten under head coach Andre Villas-Boas.
Under former Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho's leadership, the club bagged the 2004 UEFA Champions League title, the second in its history following 1987.
Along with its success on big stages, the club has the reputation of "the football factory," as it raises and sells countless world-class stars, including Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, Jackson Martinez, Hulk and Pepe.
And Suk will share the same pitch with other top-class footballers, including Iker Casillas, who guarded Real Madrid's goal mouth from 1999 to 2015, budding midfielder Ruben Neves and Christian Tello, who is on loan from Barcelona.
In the current season, Porto is No. 3 in the 18-team Liga ― 12 wins, four draws and one loss -- but has been keenly interested in reinforcing its attack because its mainstay forward, Vincent Aboubakar, remains at eight goals so far this season. The club was eliminated from this season's Champions League group stage and is now at the Europa League round of 32.
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