English Soccer Teams Showing Interest in Park CY

“I want to buy him for nine million pounds. He deserves it.”

Andy Townsend, a former Irish soccer player and color commentator, said this about Korean striker Park Chu-young on a British World Cup program July 5. Goal.com also selected Park as one of 11 cost-effective players.

The AS Monaco star, 25, is seeing his popularity soar thanks to his performance in the South Africa World Cup. News reports say five English Premier League teams have shown interest in him.

Park’s transfer is expected to cost more than triple the amount he fetched in 2008 – two million euros – when Monaco bought him from FC Seoul.

○ Flexibility and speed

Park has made no decision on what team he will play for, but news of his possible transfer shows his elevated status. Eight professional recruiters gave their opinions.

A major strength of Park is his flexibility. Each recruiter selected three items and scored them on a scale of one to three, with three being the maximum, and added the points. Park scored 14.

Hwang Deuk-ha, a scout for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings of the K-League, said, “I saw him in high school and his flexibility and elasticity were as good as those of an African player. Even former coach Cha Bum-kun said it was really difficult to block Park’s moves in a game against FC Seoul when Park played for the team.”

The second-highest score came in split speed (11 points). Lee Byeong-geun, a scout for Gyeongnam FC, said, “When scouts assess a striker, they see split speed and ball control first. Park is a rare striker with speed while controlling the ball.”

Scout Nam Chang-hun of the Pohang Steelers said, “Today’s strikers should have two conditions to survive in modern soccer: speed and flexibility. Park Chu-young has both, and is a rare player who comes once in several decades.”

niceshin@donga.com