Teen forward Yang Min-hyeok signs for Tottenham, youngest Korean to join Premier League club

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Teen forward Yang Min-hyeok signs for Tottenham, youngest Korean to join Premier League club

Published: 28 Jul. 2024, 23:24

Yang Min-hyeok poses with his Tottenham Hotspur jersey in a photo shared on the club's official Facebook account on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Teenage forward Yang Min-hyeok has signed for Tottenham Hotspur, leaving the K League 1 side Gangwon FC to become the youngest Korean to join a Premier League club.

Both Tottenham and Gangwon announced the deal for Yang on Sunday. At 18 years and 103 days old, Yang is the youngest Korean to join a Premier League side.

Spurs said Yang will join them in January 2025, after the end of the ongoing K League 1 season, and has agreed to a deal that runs until 2030.

Korean star Son Heung-min has been captain of Tottenham since last season.

Yang has been sensational this season for Gangwon, scoring eight goals and contributing four assists in 25 matches to put his club in contention for the league title. Gangwon sit in second place with 44 points, two back of Gimcheon Sangmu FC, and they have scored more goals than any team with 46 in 25 matches.

Yang is the 18th Korean player to sign for a Premier League side. Two of those players, Hwang Ui-jo and Jeong Sang-bin, were immediately loaned to other clubs before playing in the top English league. Kim Ji-su signed for Brentford last year but has yet to appear for their A team.

Yang, still a high school senior, has been going to school in the morning and taking part in Gangwon training in the afternoon. He made his professional debut about a month before his 18th birthday in March and later became the youngest player in K League 1 history to score a goal.

Gangwon had him signed to a semi-pro deal at the start of the season but upgraded it to a full professional contract in June.

Spurs arrived in Korea on Sunday ahead of preseason matches against Team K League and Bayern Munich. Yang has been voted onto Team K League and will get to showcase his talent against his potential future teammates Wednesday at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Internationally, Yang has represented Korea at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the Asian Football Confederation U-17 Asian Cup.

Yonhap