Who is 22-year-old Korean Swansea target Eom Ji-sung?

Swansea City has made a formal offer for 22-year-old Gwangju FC winger Eom Ji-sung, local media reported Thursday.

Eom Ji-sung dribbles in the second half of a game between Gwangju FC and the Pohang Steelers at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang on March 17. [NEWS1]

Swansea City has made a formal offer for 22-year-old Gwangju FC winger Eom Ji-sung, local media reported Thursday.

According to an exclusive report from OSEN citing an unnamed source at Gwangju FC, Championship side Swansea tabled an offer that includes a “$1 million transfer fee” and a sell-on fee that is “high compared to the usual rate.”

A rising star in the K League, Eom is reportedly keen to move to Europe but could face an uphill battle persuading the club to let him go in the middle of the season. He was previously linked to a Major League Soccer club but reportedly turned down the move to stay in Gwangju.

Who is Eom Ji-sung?

Eom — pronounced "um" — graduated from Gwangju Kumho High School in the southwestern city of Gwangju, remaining in his hometown to debut with Gwangju FC — where he plays alongside Jasir Asani, the Albanian player with the viral Super Mario boots at the Euros — in 2021.

Immediately slotting into the Gwangju squad — unusual for a young player in Korea — Eom made 32 appearances in his debut year, scoring four goals and picking up one assist.

He returned in 2022 — Gwangju were relegated to the K League 2 for this season — with nine goals and an assist on the season, his best to date, before shifting to take more of a playmaking role in 2023 with five goals and four assists.

That 2022 season also earned him K League 2 Young Player of the Year honors.

In 15 games so far this season, Eom has two goals and three assists as Gwangju struggle in eighth place on the 12-team table.

Eom’s strength is his speed and finishing, with Gwangju manager Lee Jung-hyo regularly praising both. He has played both on the left wing and in the center this season, scoring one goal from each position.

National duty

Eom has made one appearance for the senior Korean squad and he made it count, scoring a goal during his 14-minute debut with the Taeguk Warriors in a 5-1 rout against Iceland in January 2022.

But while he may not be a regular pick for the senior squad, Eom has made regular picks for the U-23 team. He’s been called up for seven games already this season, including as a core part of the squad that won the WAFF U-23 Championship in March.

Eom proved crucial in that tournament, scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 semifinal victory over Saudi Arabia, assisted by Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho, to carry Korea through to the final. He played the full 90 minutes in the final as well, with Korea winning on penalties.

Eom also started most of Korea’s games at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in April, which Korea exited in the quarterfinals.

Eom Ju-sung jumps for a header in a game between Gwangju FC and Ulsan HD at Gwangju Football Stadium on July 2, 2023. [YONHAP]

Likely to happen?

While K League clubs are often unwilling to let clubs go over the summer, which is the middle of the Korean system, a few deals do go through every year. This summer has already seen Ulsan HD star Seol Young-woo move to Red Star Belgrade, and Eom could follow in his footsteps.

The offer from Swansea — who remain a popular club in Korea from the Ki Sung-yueng era — might have come at the perfect time, as Gwangju are currently in some financial difficulties that could lead to dire repercussions for the club.

Gwangju was accused a few weeks ago of overstating its expected revenue for the 2024 season and misrepresented player transfer fees, violating standards set by the league’s finance committee to ensure greater stability implemented this year.

If the club is not able to rectify this — by, perhaps, making a lot of money, fast, off a young player — they could face a transfer ban this summer and restrictions on player spending. That ban would impact new signings, not player departures.

That means that the time might be right for Gwangju to accept the departure of a player like Eom, who looks set to head west in the near future anyway, although the club likely will want to get a bit more for him.

Following reports of Swansea's "$1 million" offer, Korean outlet Sports Chosun reported Thursday afternoon that Gwangju is demanding that the British club pay double the proposed fee to bring Eom to Europe.

The demand for double the transfer fee signals that Gwangju is attempting to block Eom's move to Swansea, according to Sports Chosun, as the "$1 million" was effectively the final offer.

There are also reports of discontent between Eom, who has expressed a desire to play in Europe, and the club, who are again fighting to avoid relegation.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]