Lee Move in Doubt
By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
A question mark is hovering over national football team striker Lee Keun-ho's mooted move to French outfit Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after the club's director-general announced the club had almost concluded its close season transfer activity.
``We've completed the biggest part of our summer transfer campaign and now will just have to make adjustments to compensate for any players leaving the club,'' Philippe Boindrieux told the club's official Web site Tuesday.
``The important thing is that the players and coach get to know each other during the pre-season training camps.''
If Lee does join PSG, it's not clear what kind of role he would have, as it appears he would have a difficult time breaking into the team's front line.
The French club and their star midfielder Stephane Sessegnon agreed on a one-year extension to his current contact, with the 25-year-old Benin international now tied to the team until 2013.
Sessegnon received offers from English Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, but decided to stay at the French club.
``It was my objective to stay here. I love this club,'' he said, according to the club's Web site. ``The most important thing in my eyes is to see that PSG is really counting on me.''
All the team's top players, such as Guillaume Hoarau of France, Zoumana Camara and Claude Makelele have agreed to stay at the club. The Ligue 1 cracks also signed Gregory Coupet, Mevlut Erding and Christophe Jallet. Hoarau was the club's top scorer last season, notching 23 goals in 54 appearances in all competitions. Erding is a Turkish striker, who scored 11 goals in 36 appearances for French club FC Sochaux in the 2008-09 season.
French sports newspaper L'Equipe reported the club's recruitment director Alain Roche as saying that Lee's transfer is not yet a done deal.
Lee's agency, Tenplus Sports, said that they are still waiting to hear from the French club.
``We are waiting for a response from Paris Saint-Germain. They asked us to wait some more time,'' Lee's agent said. ``We are not considering any other teams other than PSG.''
Some criticized Lee and his agent for leaving J-League club Jubilo Iwata before a deal with PSG was struck.
The 24-year-old forward debuted in the K-League with Incheon United in 2005 and played with Daegu from 2007 to 2008. He scored 11 goals and registered six assists for Daegu in 26 appearances in the 2008 season. He was fifth top scorer overall, first among domestic players, last season.
Lee turned out for Jubilo Iwata from April until last month, scoring six goals in eight appearances.
He has been a member of the national team since June 2007, winning 23 caps and scoring eight times.
PSG was ranked sixth with a 19-7-12 record among Ligue 1's 20 clubs last season.