Hong Hyun-seok’s trip to Mainz is imminent.
“Kicker” of Germany said on Monday (Korea time) that his team will join after Moritz and Yentz. Hong will leave Hent for Mainz, and an official announcement will be made on Thursday. He will become the highest transfer fee for Mainz this summer, and the transfer fee is 4 million euros. Hong is playing with Lee Jae-sung in the Korean national team. He will fill the vacancy of Tom Kraus.”
Sasha Tabolieri, who was fluent in the news of Belgium’s soccer, said on her SNS on the 28th (Korea time) that “Hong Hyun-suk’s transfer is close.” “Mainz is close to signing Hong Hyun-suk. He is a player who can play both central and offensive midfielders. His contract in Belgium was scheduled to expire in the summer of 2025,” she said.
Hong Hyun-suk graduated from Hyundai Middle School and Hyundai High School, and after joining Ulsan Hyundai, he experienced European leagues by living on loan at Unterhahaing and Unioz. He left Ulsan for the 2020 Austrian League LASK. After playing for LASK for two years, he moved to Hent in 2022. For the first time in the 2022-23 season, he made his name known to the public. Hong appeared in 31 games in the league and accumulated 11 offensive points (five goals and six assists).
He became a key player at Hent. He was an all-weather midfield player who could play both the second and third lines, and displayed tremendous amount of activity and influence. He was selected as well as the Korean national team, and even received exemption from military service by winning the gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. He played in 43 official matches last season, scoring seven goals and eight assists. He also scored and made assists in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying and group league. 먹튀검증
Rumors have been raised that Hong, who is in charge of the central team of Hent, will be transferred to Hent this season as well. “We want to keep Hong but he wants another challenge. A player has the right to say he won’t play here. We will cooperate with him if we have a chance. But he is our player now,” Hent’s director Arnar Vidarsson said in an appearance on Hent’s podcast “Zonder7ever” on Tuesday.
Trabzonspor has emerged as a strong destination. Trabzonspor is the team where Lee Eul-yong played, and Seok Hyun-jun has played on loan. It is a prestigious Turkiye. He has a career in winning the Schiffer League seven times. Senol Günesch, who coached FC Seoul, is the team that made history, and currently belongs to Orsha, who played for Ulsan Hyundai and Jeonnam Dragons.
Some fans criticized him for choosing to go to Turkey instead of the big league. “I wanted to go there. My agent brother told me not to go,” Hong said on his SNS account. He stressed that it was not a transfer promoted by an agent, but a transfer he chose.
The trip to Trabzonspor seemed very imminent, but it was canceled. Personal conditions were the problem. Hong Hyun-seok wanted to include a 6 million euro buyout in the contract. The idea was that there should be no obstacles to transfer to a bigger league. Trabzonspor wanted a buyout of more than 12 million euros (about 17.8 billion won). With the failure of the agreement, the possibility of Hong Hyun-seok staying increased, but he was headed to Germany, not Turkiye.
The destination is Mainz. In the past, Hong was linked to the Bundesliga. “Last season, Werder Bremen narrowly missed the opportunity to advance to the European match. In the 2024-25 season, we need to strengthen our squad including the central midfielder. Recently, a hot candidate from the Belgian league made a splash. Hong has been listed in the Bremen list,” the German football team’s Sport Bild said. No transfer has taken place.
This time, he has decided to go to the Bundesliga. As Lee Jae-sung is playing, Hong Hyun-suk will join Mainz, which is familiar to Korea as well. Mainz succeeded in staying despite the change of coach last season, and will play in the Bundesliga again this season. Lee Jae-sung is leading the team as a core, mainstay, and veteran player. He is receiving absolute support from Mainz fans with his loyalty and dedication.
Hong will play with Lee Jae-sung. Since his position is similar, he will either coexist or compete. Many fans and clubs will pay attention if Hong joins Mainz and plays with Lee Jae-sung, who will be on a bigger stage than Trabzonspor and Turkiye.
