Jeong Sang-bin becomes sixth Korean to play in MLS

Jeong Sang-bin's picture shared on Minnesota United's official Instagram account on March 23. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Jeong Sang-bin could become the sixth Korean player to appear in the Major League Soccer (MLS) league on Saturday when his new club Minnesota United face Chicago Fire.

The 20-year-old Korean winger signed a three-year contract with Minnesota on March 22 after being on loan from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers to Grasshoppers Club Zurich in Switzerland.

Minnesota had previously been linked to then-Nottingham Forest player Hwang Ui-jo earlier this year, whose loan to Olympiacos came to an end in January, but that transfer did not happen as Hwang opted to return to the K League instead for a six-month loan with FC Seoul.

Jeong was a prominent prospect when he started his career at the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League in 2021, scoring six goals and picking up two assists in 24 league games.

He has also made international appearances with the U-17 and U-23 squad, before making his senior team debut in June 2021 when he scored his debut goal for the Taeguk Warriors in a World Cup qualifier against Sri Lanka.

The Korean winger then entered the European football stage as he joined Wolves in 2022. He did not make a single appearance for the English club, however, and was immediately loaned to the Grasshoppers, where he played 15 games with zero goals.

Jeong’s move makes him the sixth Korean player to compete in the MLS with no other countryman in the league at the moment.

Five other Korean players have competed in the MLS prior to Jeong’s arrivial in Minnesota: Hong Myung-bo at LA Galaxy from 2003 to 2004, Lee Young-pyo at Vancouver Whitecaps from 2012 to 2013, Kim Kee-hee at Seattle Sounders from 2018 to 2019, Hwang In-beom, also at Vancouver Whitecaps, from 2019 to 2020 and Kim Moon-hwan at Los Angeles FC from 2021 to 2022.

None of the Korean players competed in the MLS for more than two years because they either moved to the league at the end of their careers or while on the rise.

Both Hong and Lee played in the MLS at the end of their careers and retired there, while the other three, who joined their MLS team in their 20s, moved on to play elsewhere.

Jeong’s move is unique in the fact that he is the youngest Korean player to join an MLS team, arriving at 20 years old when a player starts to develop to the point where he could compete in major international tournaments.

Jeong’s place in the starting XI at Minnesota is not guaranteed, as it depends on his performance at the club, but there is a chance that he may be called up for the U-23 national team squad that is looking to medal in the upcoming 2022 Asian Games in September and 2024 Paris Olympics, assuming he performs well in the MLS.

The 2023 MLS season kicked off last month and Minnesota rank in fourth place on the MLS’s Western Conference as of press time.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]