Ahead of the 2024-2025 season, the stock price of “Bull” Hwang Hee-chan is soaring again. This time, it has been revealed that French tradition’s prestigious Olympique Marseille is sending him a love call.
The leading French media expressed their intention to recruit Hwang Hee-chan from the Marseille club.
France’s Recipe said on the 5th (Korea time), “All the leaders of Marseille want Hwang Hee-chan,” adding, “Hwang Hee-chan scored 12 goals in the English Premier League last season and can give dynamics to the attack. Like Mason Greenwood, the board of directors highly values Hwang Hee-chan. Marseille has already tried to recruit Hwang Hee-chan in 2020.”
Marseille recently hired Italian Roberto de Zerby, who gained fame after nearly two years as a manager of Brighton Hove and Albion in the Premier League. It seems that de Zerby wants to join the team after watching Hwang Hee-chan play.
“The verification has been completed for coach De Gerby as well. I met with Hwang Hee-chan when I was leading Brighton,” the newspaper said. “Mrsayu, who is considering adjusting annual salary and cash flow, has yet to start negotiations with Wolverhampton (Hwang Hee-chan’s team). Like Greenwood, he is the type of player that Marseille does not have. I am ready to jump in when the opportunity arises.”
Hwang Hee-chan, who scored 12 Premier League goals last season based on his reckless movements and even scored goals, seems to have been on the radar of big clubs this summer.
Hwang Hee-chan left for Europe in 2014 when he was attending Pocheol Technical High School and took the test, and among them, he joined Austria’s strongest Red Bull Salzburg. It happened in January 2015.
However, he did not join Salzburg directly, and he was able to return to Salzburg only after a year of joining the second wife, Reffering, in Austria. Hwang Hee-chan, who scored 45 goals in 126 games including the UEFA Champions League in Salzburg, achieved his big league dream by joining Leipzig in the Bundesliga in the summer of 2020.
During his time in Salzburg, Son Heung-min played for a year on loan for Hamburg, his former team in the 2018/19 season, but Hamburg was in the second division at the time.
Hwang Hee-chan was not such a prominent player in Leipzig. He had only three goals in 26 games in a year, coupled with COVID-19 and injuries. However, he became a Premier Leaguer after a year of contact with Wolves on loan, and signed a four-year contract through a complete transfer in 2022.
After a two-year veteran of Wolverhampton, he settled down and laid the foundation for the club to become a franchise star. In particular, as his goal-scoring ability, which was considered a disappointment last season, disappeared completely, he scored 12 Premier League goals and was recognized as a quality striker in the football club.
Last season, he was praised by Premier League masters such as Jurgen Klopp (former Liverpool) and Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), and was recognized for his value beyond just a goal record.
Hwang Hee-chan was rumored to be transferred to Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham last season. In addition, he was found to have received a love call from Jose Mourinho, who led Italy’s prestigious AS Roma, last summer.
However, Wolverhampton noticed this move and signed a new five-year contract with Hwang Hee-chan by June 2028, and from Marseille’s point of view, he has to negotiate with Wolverhampton with a considerable transfer fee. Hwang Hee-chan has also expressed his affection for Wolverhampton and the Premier League several times, so it remains to be seen whether Hwang Hee-chan will actually go to the French stage.
Marseille reached the semifinals of the UEFA Europa League last season. It ranked eighth in Ligue 1, a regular league in France. It won nine times in the league. 스포츠토토
