Hwang Ui-jo makes brief appearance for Olympiacos as offers come in from MLS

Hwang Ui-jo in action against Nantes in a Europa League game at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France on Sept. 8, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Hwang Ui-jo made an unexpected 20-minute appearance for Olympiacos in a 2-2 Greek Cup round of 16 game with Atromitos on Wednesday, coming on in the second half for his first appearance since early November.

Hwang’s appearance on Wednesday could turn out to be his last for the Greek club, which has made no secret of its intention to offload the struggling forward during the January transfer window.

Hwang, once the top scorer for then-Ligue 1 club Bordeaux, has seen things go from bad to worse since he was shipped off to Greece in the summer.

After making a slow start to his career with Olympiacos, where he is technically on loan from Nottingham Forest, the striker has been entirely excluded from the squad for the last nine Super League games, and has only played more than 11 minutes in three league matches this season.

In the Europa League he has seen more success, appearing in every game this season until Olympiacos was knocked out in November.

He has not scored a single goal in all competitions and has just one assist in a league game on Sept. 3. Considering that he spent the last two seasons as Bordeaux’s top scorer in the French Ligue 1, Hwang’s form has taken an exceptionally steep dive and, at 30, it’s difficult to imagine how many opportunities he is going to get to bounce back.

With Hwang’s form showing little sign of improving in Greece, the club are now entertaining offers from overseas for the Korean forward. As Hwang has already played for both Bordeaux and Olympiacos this season, he is ineligible to play competitive games for a third team under FIFA rules.

However, if Hwang moves to a team playing in a league that does not follow a concurrent schedule to the Greek league, he will be able to play. The most obvious candidates for Hwang’s new home are teams in Korea or the United States.

Major League Soccer teams, presumably Hwang’s preferred option, reportedly have come calling, with Greek media reporting Wednesday that Olympiacos have received offers from both Atlanta United and Minnesota United.

According to those reports, the MLS clubs are not only interested in taking over the loan from Forest, but also potentially in buying Hwang outright.

If Hwang Ui-jo does head west to the United States, teammate Hwang In-beom may not be on his own in Piraeus for too long — top of Olympiacos’ possible replacement list is Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors forward Cho Gue-sung, who recently made a name for himself as the first Korean to score two goals in a World Cup game at Qatar 2022.

Olympiacos will face some serious competition in signing Cho, however, with Scottish club Celtic, Minnesota and Mainz 05 all said to be interested in the young Korea.
Celtic are believed to have already tabled an offer at £2.7million ($3.3 million), with Minnesota reportedly offering $5 million.

Olympiacos will be back on action on Sunday with a game against Aris in the Greek Super League, although Hwang Ui-jo is unlikely to make the squad. Based on recent form, Hwang In-beom is likely to start for the Greek side.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]