National soccer midfielder Lee Soon-min (29) will leave Gwangju FC and wear Daejeon Hana Citizen's uniform.
According to an official familiar with the K-League transfer market on Sunday, Daejeon Hana is close to recruiting Lee Soon-min after fierce competition with other teams. Unless a major variable occurs, Lee Soon-min is expected to leave Gwangju and build a new nest in Daejeon soon. 메이저 토토사이트
Lee Soon-min, a midfielder born in 1994, is a so-called "waiting-man" player who became a national team player for the first time in his life in September last year. He entered the professional league as a right flanker, but after changing his position to a midfielder, he won the best 11 midfielder awards in both K-League 1 and K-League 2, and has become a member of the national team. He is also on board the final entry list for the 2023 Asian Cup of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) this month, and is set to hold his first major competition.
Lee Soon-min, who joined Gwangju in 2017 and entered the professional league, completed his military service early in the Pocheon Citizens' Soccer Team after not getting a chance to make his K-League debut in the first season. After being discharged from the military, he gradually increased his playing time, but he flew up from the 2022 season when his team was demoted to K-League 2. In that year, he played 32 K-League 2 games and scored one goal and one assist, leading Gwangju to the K-League 2 championship and direct promotion, and even received the K-League 2 Best 11 Midfielder Award.
In the 2023 season, when he re-promoted to K League 1, he also played as a key player in Gwangju's midfield and scored one goal and two assists in 35 games (30 starts), the most since his debut. He played a key role in Gwangju's 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) qualification, and won the K League 1 Best 11 midfielder award following the K League 2 in the previous season.
Based on such performance, Lee joined the A-team at the invitation of German coach Jürgen Klinsmann in September last year, and was named the national flag bearer for the first time in his late 20s. He played as a substitute in an away match in Wales in September, made his A-match debut, and was tested consistently in September against Saudi Arabia and October against Tunisia before getting accepted. In the end, Lee Soon-min joined the final entry for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, following the second preliminary round of the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup in November last year.
Daejeon, which made a sensation in the promotion team last season and succeeded in staying in eighth place in the K-League, started to strengthen its power by looking beyond entering the Final A this season and advancing to the AFC Champions League. Daejeon, which desperately needed to reinforce its midfield, has raised expectations further this season with the recruitment of national team member Lee Soon-min, who has abundant activities and pass skills in the midfield. Several clubs also sought to recruit Lee Soon-min, but they laughed at the fierce recruitment battle. With Lee Soon-min currently called up for the Asian Cup national team, his destination is expected to be confirmed before the match against Bahrain on the 15th, when the group stage of the tournament begins.
Earlier, the Daejeon club has been accelerating its preparation for the new season by recruiting veteran defender Hong Jung-woon and midfielder Kim Joon-beom, starting with Kim Seung-dae, a former national team striker. The Daejeon club, which conducted its domestic training in Geoje until the 8th, will hold overseas training in Hanoi, Vietnam, from the 10th to the 28th.