Na Sang-ho to join Japanese side Machida Zelvia

Na Sang-ho [YONHAP]

Na Sang-ho will join J1 League team Machida Zelvia for the 2024 season, the Japanese club announced Thursday.

Na joins Machida from K League 1 team FC Seoul, where he has played as a key forward from 2021 to 2023 during which he scored 30 goals in 106 fixtures.

The 27-year-old forward has not been called up to the national team since a friendly with El Salvador in June last year, but he still has 28 caps and made it on to the final roster for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

He is an agile winger who can break through defense and score on his own. Ball control and dribbles are his forte.

The upcoming 2024 J League 1 season — set to run from February through December — will not be Na’s first time playing in Japan. He spent one season with FC Tokyo in 2019.

The 2024 season will be Machida’s first time playing in the first division, having earned promotion to the top tier after winning the J2 League last year.

With Na out of the FC Seoul squad, manager Kim Gi-dong will have some work finding a replacement ahead of the 2024 K League 1 season that is set to begin in spring.

The capital side did not secure any silverware last season, finishing the league in seventh place on the 12-team table.

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