National soccer team striker Cho Kyu-seong (25, Jeonbuk Hyundai) recently received an official offer from Germany’s Bundesliga FSV Mainz 05. It’s not just a matter of interest. It has been confirmed that an official offer, including a specific ransom price and options, has been delivered to K-League 1 (Part 1) Jeonbuk <Sports Donga 7th Exclusive Report>.
It is known that Mainz delivered Jeonbuk an amount exceeding the 2.2 million pounds (approximately 3.35 billion won) set by Celtic FC (Scotland), which is also interested in signing Cho Kyu-sung. The first offer from Mainz arrived around Christmas last year and has already been discussed several times. While Park Ji-sung, technical director of Jeonbuk, is currently staying in London, England, and is in charge of negotiations with Mainz, the ‘final negotiation table’ is expected to be set up soon.
Transfermarkt, which specializes in the global soccer market, puts Cho Kyu-sung at 2.5 million euros (approximately 3.35 billion won). In just 40 days, the market value skyrocketed. As of November 14 last year, just before the opening of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, it was 1.4 million euros (about 1.88 billion won), but as of the 23rd of last month, it was 2.5 million euros.
Cho Kyu-sung is a life-changing case in Qatar. He was almost unknown until the World Cup, but he caught the attention of many scouts who visited Qatar with multiple goals in the second group match against Ghana (2-3 Korea loss). He was the first player to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match in Korean soccer history. In particular, the second header goal scored with a much higher RBI than Ghana’s defense was so strong that FIFA selected it as the ‘Best Goal’.
It was around this time that Mainz paid attention to Cho Kyu-sung. Other clubs also salivated. Celtic, Stade Rennes (France), Anderlecht (Belgium), Fenerbahce (Turkey), and even Hungary and the US teams showed interest.
Mainz was more specific than these. At the beginning of last month, when the Qatar World Cup was in full swing, the club’s ransom was exposed through foreign media, so much effort was put into recruiting Cho Kyu-seong, and after designating him as a candidate for ‘reinforcement as a top priority’ at the winter transfer market opened on the 1st, he contacted Jeonbuk.
Mainz, which is undergoing field training in Spain ahead of the second half of the Bundesliga race in the 2022-2023 season, which will start with an expedition to Stuttgart on the 21st (Korean time), needs reinforcement of the attacking team. Midfielder Lee Jae-seong (31), a senior in the national team of Cho Kyu-seong, is tied for 3rd in the team’s scoring rankings (2 goals), and his offensive power is poor, and 3 out of 5 strikers in the first team are not in normal condition due to major or minor injuries. 안전놀이터
In particular, the absence of Karim Onisiwo (Austria), who is recording the most goals (4 goals), is painful. Mainz manager Bo Svensson said in an interview with German media during his training in Spain that he was “requested to sign a striker,” and the target was Cho Kyu-sung.
Mainz has a steady relationship with Korean football. Following Cha Doo-ri (FC Seoul Youth Enhancement Office), Koo Ja-cheol (Jeju United), Park Joo-ho (Suwon FC), and Ji Dong-won (Seoul), Lee Jae-seong is now the main player. In addition to decent skills, the image of Korean players who have sincerity and affinity is quite good. Such a friendly atmosphere can be a great driving force for Cho Kyu-seong, who hopes to transfer to Mainz.