Hwang In-Beom’s transfer looks to be finalized.
Football publication Sportal confirmed Hwang In-bum’s move to Zvezda on Thursday (KST), with Sportal tweeting: ‘The great South Korean will join Zvezda from Olympiacos. The two clubs arranged the transfer late last night,’ the report said.
Hwang In-bum is a midfielder that South Korea is proud of. A key midfielder for the Daejeon Citizens, he was named to the K League 2 Best 11 for three consecutive seasons before moving to the United States.
He joined the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2019 and was immediately recognized as a key player for the team, totaling four goals and three assists in 35 games as they sought to break into Europe. Croatia’s Dynamo Zagreb and Russia’s Rubin Kazan battled it out, with the latter matching his transfer fee.
In the Russian league, he became a key part of Rubin Kazan’s breakthrough, playing alongside Hvitsa in the center of the team and garnering attention as a top prospect in Russia. He had a successful season, leading the team from mid-table to fourth place and qualifying them for Europe.
Due to the war in Russia, he signed a short-term contract with FC Seoul for a month and a half, playing 10 games and showing his commitment to the team despite his loan status. He also showed respect to the Daejeon fans and left for Greece on a high note.
In the 2022/23 season, he moved to Olympiakos, one of the top teams in Greece, and despite the team’s lack of success in the league, he became an integral part of the team with his regular appearances. He was so beloved by the fans that he was voted Player of the Year in a fan poll organized by the league’s secretariat.
In order to leave the team after only one year with Olympiacos, another team must submit a transfer fee that the team is satisfied with. Since Hwang In-bum is the best player in the league, Olympiacos didn’t let him go easily and demanded a hefty transfer fee.
Hwang was asking Olympiacos to let him leave for €3 million instead of the €10 million the team had valued at €14.3 billion.
Hwang was arguing that he was a free agent because his existing contract was for 1+2 years, while Olympiacos was arguing that his contract was for 3 years. Olympiakos’ legal team is already in the process of filing a lawsuit, but Hwang’s reputation was already building as the two sides went to extremes.
In addition to the Italian teams, Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt from the German Bundesliga and Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray from the Turkish Lig were also interested.
Greek media outlet Sportsdog reported on Sept. 24 (KST) that “a Turkish team is reportedly making a bid for Hwang Inbum. According to Dimitris Vasilakos, who is familiar with Turkish soccer, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe want him, but Galatasaray is more interested.
Galatasaray have shown great interest. When asked if Hwang In-bum could be a key player for Galatasaray, the Vasilakos reporter said, “He could be in the starting lineup. Galatasaray will pay that kind of money because he is worth it. And he will easily start there,” he said. 바카라
However, interest from Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe has faded, with the most recent agreement said to have been with Atalanta, but that too fell through when the club failed to make an offer.
According to Sportal, Hwang will be the most expensive player in Zvezda’s history. The transfer fee to Olympiakos will be €5 million and will be paid in three installments. The contract will be signed for four years.
Zvezda were eliminated in the Champions League playoffs last season with a 2-3 loss away to Maccabi Haifa and were drawn in the group stage of the Europa League, where they were drawn in the same group as Ferencvarosi TC, AS Monaco, and Trabzonspor, and finished bottom of the group with two wins and four losses. In the league, they went 30 wins, 7 draws, 0 losses, and 97 points, finishing unbeaten for the second time in two seasons, and they also won the Serbian Cup, completing the double for the third consecutive season.
Currently, Zvezda is second in the league with a 5-1 record and qualified for this season’s Champions League, where they were drawn in Group E alongside Manchester City (England), Leipzig (Germany), and Young Boys (Switzerland).