Kim Ye-geon, a highly touted talent born in 2008, has made his move to Europe. His destination is Crvena Zvezda, one of Serbia's most storied professional football clubs, also known as Red Star Belgrade.
Red Star announced through its official website on the 25th, Korea time, that Kim had signed a five-year contract and would wear the No. 19 jersey.
A third-year student at Yeongsaeng High School, part of Jeonbuk Hyundai's youth academy, Kim is a forward who burst onto the scene at Jeonbuk this year. Born in August 2008 and recently turned 18, Kim appeared in eight matches in his debut season and even found the net. On July 11, in a match against Ulsan HD that Jeonbuk won 3-1, he scored his first professional goal at the age of 17 years, 11 months and 4 days, setting a new record as the youngest recipient of the league's Goal of the Month award.
His main position is attacking midfielder, but his versatility to also play out wide is one of his strengths. Built on technical ball control and a forward-driving style, he stood out at the youth level and earned call-ups to South Korea's age-group national teams.
Kim had been consistently linked with big European clubs, but he ended up donning the jersey of Red Star, the club that pursued him most aggressively.
Kim shared his thoughts on joining the club through Red Star's website, saying it was a great honor to join Serbia's top club. He said Red Star had left the best impression on him during their talks and that he believed the club's style of play would suit him best.
He explained that, ahead of joining, he had spoken with Seol Young-woo, a senior Korean player who plays for Red Star.
Kim said he had talked with Seol, who told him Red Star was a good team and would suit his playing style, and recommended the move. He pledged to repay the fans' support, adding that he would give everything to show his best performance.
