Hwang Ui-jo, a member of the English Premier League club Nottingham Forest, has been playing on loan at Greece’s Olympiacos, a sister club of Nottingham, this season.
It is said that Hwang Eui-jo has recently made up his mind about going to Seoul after contemplating between returning to the K-League and advancing to the United States. It is rumored that he was moved by the efforts of Seoul, which has been steadily showing interest for over half a year. His contract is for 5 months until the summer.
As a result, Hwang Eui-jo returned to the K-League 5 years and 6 months after leaving Japan by transferring from Seongnam FC to Gamba Osaka in the summer of 2017. In the upcoming 2023 K-League 1 first half, he plans to wear a Seoul uniform and work with former teammates such as Na Sang-ho and Ki Sung-yong. In 2013, he reunited with Seoul coach Ahn Ik-soo, who had a relationship as a coach and player in Seongnam, after 10 years.
Hwang Ui-jo made his professional debut at Seongnam FC in 2013 and played 140 league games wearing a Seongnam uniform until 2017, scoring 35 goals and 8 assists. He exploded with 15 goals and 3 assists in the K League 1 in the 2015 season and was nominated for the Young Player Award. He scored 30 goals and 7 assists in a total of 122 appearances in the K League 1 individual.
Hwang Ui-jo, who grew up as a national level striker in the K-League, moved to Gamba in 2017 and realized his dream of advancing to Europe by joining Bordeaux in the summer of 2019. After scoring 29 Ligue 1 goals in three seasons at Bordeaux, he entered the Premier League last summer.
Hwang Eui-jo went on loan to Olympiacos, which has the same owner as Nottingham, but had difficulty competing for the starting position. In the end, he played only two games as a starter in the Greek Super League, and now he has to find a new nest again after half a year.
It is known that Hwang Eui-jo considered staying in Europe as the first option. However, he was caught by FIFA rules that prevented him from playing for another European team for the rest of the season. FIFA allows registration of up to three clubs in a single season, but allows only two clubs to play official matches. Hwang Eui-jo has already played an official match with Girondins Bordeaux and Olympiacos this season. He cannot even play in the Nottingham uniform he joined last summer.
However, FIFA applies an exception in the case of transfer to a team with a different league schedule. It means that it is possible to enter Korea, Japan, and the United States, which run the Chunchunje League, unlike Europe, which is a Chunchun Festival. For this reason, European transfer expert Fabricio Romano reported that Minnesota (USA), Vissel Kobe 안전놀이터 (Japan) and FC Seoul (Korea) were interested in loaning Hwang Ui-jo in the middle of this month.
Seoul contacted such Hwang Ui-jo. <Sports Chosun January 30, exclusive report> As in the case of Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos), who was recruited twice last year, Hwang Ui-jo is embraced on the condition of meeting the player’s needs with constant interest. succeded. It is said that negotiations were easy because fellow national team members Hwang Eui-jo and Hwang In-beom belonged to the same agency (CAA).
Hwang Eui-jo went downhill due to continued sluggishness this season. He performed below his expectations at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He is determined to seek a revival in the K-League ahead of joining Nottingham this coming summer. Hwang Ui-jo’s return to the K-League, which combines skills and looks, is expected to create a big repercussion in the K-League, which is thirsty for stars. Last season, Seoul, which ranked 2nd in the lowest score (43 goals in 38 matches) and stayed in 9th place, is putting their hopes on Hwang Eui-jo’s scoring ability.