Tottenham Hotspur are set to complete a deal - rumoured to be in the region of £4m - for eighteen-year old Min-Hyuk Yang, who will become the club's third summer signing.
The Gangwon FC winger, who will see out the season with the Korean side before arriving in North London in January, has been directly involved in 12 goals so far during the 2024 season, scoring eight and assisting four.
Yang will become the third eighteen-year old to be signed by Ange Postecoglou, who has a knack for talent-spotting in Asia, since he took over the reigns at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a little over a year ago.
The Australian Head Coach previously signed Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate at Celtic, but is yet to explore the market in the Far East since becoming Spurs boss until now.
Spurs fans will get a taste of what their new signing can offer, as he is set to play against them when the English side face Team K-League in South Korea next weekend (3rd August), as their Premier League preparations continue.
South Korean football expert Sungmo Lee was full of the praise for the highly-rated attacker, when speaking to football.london: “Yang Min-hyuk is the best young player in the K-League right now, and most significantly, he’s still a high school student.
"His talent was so exceptional so his club Gangwon proposed a professional contract to a high school student which was the first ever case in K League’s history.
"He showed great performances in K-League this season, winning the Young Player of the Month award three times in a row from April to June. He is a great dribbler but also possesses great finishing skills which makes Korean fans hope that he can become the next Heung-min Son, especially if he joins the same club.”
The likenesses to legend Heung-Min Son, who joined Spurs in 2015, is a positive sign, although he will still have plenty of work to do once he arrives in North London until he establishes himself as a regular starter, just like his international compatriot did.
Fitting the system
Although it is still very early to call, it appears that the South Korean winger epitomises an 'Ange Postecoglou winger.'
In January, when the Lilywhites signed Timo Werner, he fit the system like a glove - being incredibly direct, quick, providing many assists and forcing many own goals with those dangerous balls along the floor of the black. Although the German may not be the most clinical in front of goal, which led to many fans growing increasingly frustrated, he was still signed on another loan deal for the 2024/25 season, and has already claimed a trademark assist in the 1-5 thrashing of Hearts.
Since Thursday, when the rumours first broke about Spurs signing the talented winger, Min-Hyuk Yang has bagged a goal and assist, including a thunderbolt into the top corner from range, as Gangwon FC won 4-2 - giving Tottenham fans reason to believe this is more than just a hopeful purchase.
Strengths
Despite being just eighteen-years old, we can still get a grasp of the strengths which Yang possesses, thanks to the data available to us.
Compared to other K-League 1 wingers in 2024, he ranks first for goals scored, non-penalty goals scored, expected goal, progressive runs, accelerations and tackles.
As well as these impressive figures, the youngster also lands in second place for dribbles, offensive duels won, touches in the box and defensive duels won.
These statistics will give reason for Postecoglou and his scouting staff to think that he will fit the system like a glove. The fact that he is so strong in not only the attacking phase of play, but also the defensive phase, means he will be perfect for the high-pressing philosophy which is run by the Australian Head Coach in North London.
Opinion of the writer
It is still very early in Min-Hyuk Yang's career to comment on whether he can be a future star in the Premier league, however, the early showings are extremely promising.
He is already into double figures for the current K-League season, and Tottenham having a great track record when it comes to these sign-and-immediately-loan-back type of signings. Previously, they signed Papa Matar Sarr, Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall in similar deal structures.