Ulsan HD has found "Kim Young-kwon's successor."

"Ulsan has agreed to recruit center back Lee Jae-ik (26) from Jeonbuk Hyundai. The announcement will be made soon," said an official familiar with the K-League transfer market. Lee, who is currently in basic military training, will undergo a medical test immediately after his discharge from the hospital on Tuesday. Lee will join Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, where Ulsan is currently training.
The key challenge for Ulsan this winter was generational change. It won the title in the 2024 season for three consecutive years and established a dynasty, but it was agonizing over the aging of its main players. Ulsan, which is set to participate in the Club World Cup this winter, has brought in a large number of young players and is seeking to change its position.

Key players in the league were defense players. Last season's key four-backs all exceeded 30 lines. Ulsan made a bold move. It changed sides first. It recruited Park Min-seo (25) from E-Land in Seoul and Yoon Jong-kyu (27) from FC Seoul. It filled the vacancy of Lee Myung-jae (32) and Yoon Il-rok (33), who did not renew their contracts. 토토사이트

The team has also made changes to its central defense. With Lim Jong-eun moving to Daejeon Hana Citizen and Kim Ki-hee focusing on heading to the U.S., recruitment has become mandatory. First of all, it has confirmed recruitment of Seo Myeong-gwan (23), a young defender of Bucheon FC who used to be a key center back for the national team under the age of 23. The team even completed a medical test and autograph signing on Wednesday. By recruiting Seo Myeong-gwan, who was closely watched by Daejeon and Jeonbuk, the age of center back has been significantly lowered.

If the signing officer was a recruitment in preparation for Kim Ki-hee's departure, Lee Jae-ik was a defender that Ulsan worked on for a long time. Ulsan, looking for a high-quality left-footed center back, predicted Lee Jae-ik. After paying the transfer fee, Lee Jae-ik came to the market just in time.

Lee Jae-ik is known as "Kim Young-kwon's successor." He was evaluated as the successor of Kim Young-kwon, who played as a key defender of the A team for more than 10 years. He is just like Kim Young-kwon, ranging from an accurate kick-up ability to an outstanding defense sense. Lee Jae-ik, who served as two representatives by age group, received attention by performing fantastic performances at the 2019 U-20 World Cup, where he won the runner-up prize. He also joined the A team while receiving compliments from Paulo Bento.

Lee Jae-ik, who made his professional debut with Gangwon FC in 2011, has continued his career abroad, including Alaiyan in Qatar and Royal Antwerp in Belgium. Afterwards, he joined Jeonbuk FC last season after playing at E-Land in Seoul. Although he did not perform as well as he expected, he always received high scores for his potential. As he solved the military service issue through the gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, he was evaluated to be able to play a key role in the A team's defense if he increases his defense capability. Manager Kim Pan-gon is also highly valued by Lee Jae-ik.

As Lee Jae-ik is with a clear tutor named Kim Young-kwon, he is dreaming of taking a leap forward from this season. For now, Kim Young-kwon is likely to be the backup, but as Ulsan is playing the league, the Club World Cup, the Asian Champions League, and the Korea Cup this season, it is expected to be given a lot of opportunities. Ulsan, which has completed its defense maintenance, plans to focus on its offense by recruiting foreign strikers during the rest of the winter transfer market.