West Ham linked to Ulsan, Korea defender Seol Young-woo

Premier League side West Ham is rumored to be looking at defender Seol Young-woo, who is currently playing for Korea at the Asian Cup in Qatar.

Seol Young-woo breaks through during Korea's Group E match against Jordan at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup at Altumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Jan. 20. [NEWS1]

Premier League side West Ham is rumored to be looking at defender Seol Young-woo, who is currently playing for Korea at the Asian Cup in Qatar.

The potential move was reported by ExWHUEmployee, an insider unaffiliated with West Ham but known to be a reliable source for information about the team and a co-host of the podcast The West Ham Way.

Seol, who has established himself as a regular pick for the Korean national team, is currently a defender for K League 1 team Ulsan HD, who have topped the domestic first division’s 12-team table for two straight years.

He made 32 appearances for Ulsan HD, formerly known as Ulsan Hyundai, during the 2023 K League season, nabbing three goals and four assists along the way.

It was Seol who scored Ulsan’s final goal of the year in their season-closer against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, defeating the North Jeolla team 1-0 to make their title defense official after spending the vast majority of the season in No. 1.

The 25-year-old defender was the K League’s most recent Player of the Month, winning the award for the October to December period last year.

And he also earned a spot in the best XI at the 2023 K League Awards alongside Ulsan teammate Kim Young-gwon, as well as Pohang Steelers’ Wanderson and Alex Grant in defense.

Seol made his professional debut with the Ulsan side in 2020 and has stuck with the club since.

But he would be available for a long-term long-distance move. Seol was part of the Korean national team that defeated Japan 2-1 to win gold in men’s football at the Hangzhou Asian Games last October. That victory secured for every man on the squad a coveted and crucial exemption from mandatory military service that could interrupt a career abroad.

If Seol does get the call from West Ham, he would join an elite — and expanding — group of Korean players in top-tier clubs in leagues across Europe.

West Ham have yet to sign a Korean player to their men’s squad, although they were rumored to have been considering Lee Kang-in during a transfer window last spring before French club Paris Saint-Germain snapped the 22-year-old winger up on a five-year contract last July.

But it wouldn’t be West Ham’s first time storing up talent from Korea. West Ham signed Korea’s Cho So-hyun to their Women’s Super League side in the winter of 2018-19 season, and she played there until January 2021.

West Ham is also rumored to be considering Korea’s Kim Ju-sung, as well as players from Japan.

Korea next face Malaysia in their third group stage match on Thursday. Korea so far have one win against Bahrain and a draw against Jordan to sit in second place in Group E.

The Premier League’s January transfer window is set to close on Feb. 1.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]