Stuttgart is courting, especially in the person of coach Sebastian Hoeneß, for Freiburg’s Woo-Yeong Jeong (23), who would also like to join VfB. However, the SC has clear ideas for a transfer that have not yet been fulfilled.
Two roles: Woo-Yeong Jeong as South Korea’s goalscorer and Freiburg’s joker. imago images (2)
Healthy South Korean men must complete 20 months of military service no later than 26 years after the end of the year of birth. For professional athletes, this obligation can jeopardize their careers. However, there are loopholes.
Gold at Asian Games or Olympic medal increases the transfer value
Jeong would like to capitalize on one – by triumphing with South Korea’s squad at the upcoming Asian Games, which begin in China at the end of September. Gold in this competition or an Olympic medal (South Korea was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Tokyo in 2021, Jeong was dropped from the squad shortly before the tournament) only require a four-week short shift. Bayern’s dream player Min-Jae Kim (Naples) completed one of these this summer after winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
What does all this have to do with the talks about a Jeong transfer between Stuttgart and Freiburg? An exemption from long military service increases the player value and thus also the transfer value. Should Jeong, who will not be available to his club for a few weeks in September and October, triumph at the Asian Games, a hefty transfer fee would be due, for example.
Freiburg’s transfer fee also depends on the military duty
In this case, Freiburg imagines a total transfer fee of around four million euros, with continued military service around three million euros. Then, in all likelihood, Jeong would only be available to a European club for two and a half years before he can be called up for service in South Korea from the end of 2025.
For example, Freiburg’s former professional Chang-Hoon Kwon had to accept a career break in the summer of 2021. He had missed the 2018 Asian Games through injury and moved from the sports club to South Korea to perform his military duties at a military club in the second division alongside football. He has only been back in South Korea’s premier league since this summer. It is questionable whether the international career of the 29-year-old international (43 appearances) will pick up again.
SC managers upset about noisy Stuttgart advertising
In addition to the military issue, there are other differences between those responsible in Stuttgart and Freiburg. The latter are a bit upset about what they see as noisy Stuttgart courtship for Jeong and also the attempts in the background to lure the Freiburg U-21 national player Yannik Keitel after they finalized the change from Florian Müller to time at VfB’s request postponed after the relegation.
Differences in the fee and the replacement question in Freiburg
The money is still a problem. So far, VfB is said to have only offered two million euros for Jeong. He is drawn to the Baden-Württemberg state capital because of his good relationship with coach Hoeneß, with whom he worked at Bayern II, and because of his personally unsatisfactory 2022/23 season (only nine starting eleven appearances).
For the SC, Jeong was and is an important squad and supplementary player, who was used in 34 of 45 competitive games (two goals, three assists), always brought positive energy from the bench and therefore has his price. Another transfer requirement for Freiburg is to clarify the replacement question.
The Breisgauer are still looking for a striker anyway, but are not yet on the home straight with any candidate in this matter. Depending on the profile of this access, it could be that Christian Streich and Co. let Jeong go without a one-to-one replacement if the transfer requirements are met. Then the SC would start the season with eight offensive players and would have the injured Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (rehab after a cruciate ligament rupture) on hand.
2023-07-06 09:52:34
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