Hwang Ui-jo returns to Nottingham Forest — on paper — after fourth loan

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Hwang Ui-jo returns to Nottingham Forest — on paper — after fourth loan

Published: 01 Jul. 2024, 15:10 Updated: 01 Jul. 2024, 17:09

Hwang Ui-jo celebrates scoring a goal for Nottingham Forest in a pre-season friendly against Notts County at Meadow Lane in Nottingham, England on July 16, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Embattled Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo is back on the books with Premier League side Nottingham Forest after his loan to Turkish club Alanyaspor officially ended on Sunday.

But there has been no indication that he will actually get any time in the top flight — having yet to play for Forest in a regular season nearly two years into a three-year contract.

Hwang, 31, joined a freshly promoted Forest in August 2022 for what would have been his first season in the Premier League.

But while Forest clung on to their spot in the first division and narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship — finishing in 16th place in the 2022-23 season and in 17th place in May — Hwang rented space on four different rosters in four separate leagues.

Forest have yet to make any noise about Hwang’s status since announcing the completion of his loan move to Alanyaspor in February.

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The move to Turkey was the latest twist in what’s been a tumultuous few footballing years for Hwang, who went from top scorer at a Ligue 1 club to persona non grata in the Greek Super League in the space of a year, then pivoted to the K League before getting called back to warm Forest’s bench last summer.

After a successful career in Korea and Japan, Hwang, a traditional out-in-front forward, moved to Europe with French club Bordeaux in 2019, becoming the club’s top scorer in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns. He was considered a top prospect in the French league at the time, with the official Ligue 1 website repeatedly highlighting him as a player to watch in the transfer market.

But cash-strapped Bordeaux held on until it was too late, refusing to consider a deal until the summer of 2022, when the club crashed into financial administration and faced the threat of double relegation.

Olympiacos' Hwang Ui-jo, left, and FC Nantes' Nicolas Pallois in action during a UEFA Europa League Group G match at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France on Sept. 8, 2022. [EPA/YONHAP]

Forest, who were in the middle of one of the biggest shopping sprees in European football history at the time, snapped Hwang up and immediately loaned him out to Greek club Olympiacos.

Olympiacos' Hwang Ui-jo, left, and Pierre Kunde react during a Europa League game against Nantes at Karaiskaki Stadium in Piraeus, Greece on Nov. 3, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Hwang, in the middle of a difficult slump, struggled to adapt to the Super League club and ended up relegated to the bench and, ultimately, out of the squad completely. That loan ended in January last year when Forest instead shipped him off to FC Seoul.

Hwang Ui-jo rejoices after scoring the first goal for FC Seoul in a match against the Pohang Steelers at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on June 11, 2023. [NEWS1]

Back in the K League, Hwang began to find his feet again, scoring four goals and four assists in 18 appearances and again finding the back of the net for the national team.

Hwang was called back to Nottingham last summer but was sidelined for the first few weeks of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign before being loaned out to Championship side Norwich City where he scored three goals in 17 matches.

Nottingham Forest's Hwang Ui-jo during the warm-up before a second round Carabao Cup match against Burnley on Aug. 30, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Norwich, however, ended the loan deal seven months early and sent him back to Forest in January. A few weeks after that, Forest moved Hwang to Alanyaspor where he finished out the 2023-24 season, scoring one goal in eight games.

Hwang’s three-year Forest contract, which runs until next June, has also been shadowed by a domestic investigation into allegations that he illegally filmed sex videos without his partners’ consent.

An unidentified Instagram user claiming to be an ex-lover of Hwang posted a video of a naked man, which they claimed was Hwang, with a woman on the platform in June 2023.

Hwang, who has made 62 appearances for Korea since 2015, was cut from the national team last November when the KFA said he would be suspended from the squad until the end of the investigation.

In March, a court sentenced the Instagram user, whom police identified as Hwang’s sister-in-law, to three years in prison on blackmailing charges. Hwang has yet to return to the national team, and it is unclear whether Hwang has returned to Korea since he left for England in January, and then Turkey in February.

BY MARY YANG, JIM BULLEY AND PAIK JI-HWAN [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]