‘Flap the flag!”…South Korea’s top prospect Bae Joon-ho signs four-year deal at Stoke

Bae Joon-ho has donned a Stoke City shirt.

Stoke City announced the signing of Bae Joon-ho via the club’s website on Wednesday (July 31). He has signed a four-year contract with the club for an undisclosed fee.”

Director of Football Ricky Martin said: “Junho Bae caught our eye with his performances at the U-20 World Cup in Argentina this summer. “We’ve been watching him closely and felt his technical ability would be a great fit for our team,” said Martin.

“There will be an adjustment phase as he leaves Korea and adjusts to a new environment. We have high hopes for him. I think he will continue to improve as he gets used to England.” Stoke added: “We have been waiting for a significant amount of work from our recruitment department to finalize the transfer of Bae Junho. The signing of Bae demonstrates Stoke’s long-term plans.”

Bae, who reportedly watched Rotherham United play, said: “I’ve always wanted to play in England and this is a dream come true. This is just the beginning for me. I hope to have a long and successful career at Stoke. Moving from England is an adjustment, both on and off the pitch. I want to settle in as quickly as possible and help the team perform well,” he said.

As one of the biggest prospects to lead the future of Korean soccer, he was highly anticipated and sought after even before joining the team, and made his K League debut with Daejeon Hana Citizen in 2022. He made his professional debut against Gwangju FC in the second round of the 2022 Hana OneQ K League 2 and scored his first professional goal against Seoul Eland in the 27th round. In 2022, he made 10 appearances, scoring one goal, and was a regular for the U-19 and U-20 national teams.

In 2023, he was briefly sidelined at the start of the season with the U-20 national team, but made his K League 1 debut against FC Seoul in Round 5. His performance was even better than last year, as he helped his team to a 3:2 victory and once again made a name for himself. In his 27 career K League appearances, Bae has scored three goals, two of which came this season. His K League 1 debut came in the 24th round against Daegu FC, where he scored the winning goal to secure a 1:0 victory, and his goal against FC Seoul in the 26th round was the 1,111th goal in Daejeon’s league history.

This year, Daejeon has garnered worldwide attention for its performances not only in the league but also in international competitions. Bae participated with the U-20 national team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 in May, where he was the ace of the squad, scoring one goal and adding three assists in four games to help the team reach the quarterfinals. He averaged 84 minutes per game and contributed 1.07 offensive points per 90 minutes. His goal in the Round of 16 against Ecuador, which he scored after beating the defense and goalkeeper, was ranked among the top 10 goals of the tournament by FIFA.

He was a mainstay in the squad this season. He was excellent in all aspects of the game, including scoring. He even appeared in a friendly against Atletico Madrid and was praised by coach Diego Simeone. Even at the age of 2003, Bae’s top performances at the professional and international level raised his profile and led to an offer from Stoke City. After reaching an agreement with Daejeon, Bae joined Stoke.

At his departure press conference, Bae Junho said, “I’m really excited. I’m going to the stage I’ve always dreamed of. So I’m very excited. I flew up yesterday and slept near my agent’s house. I slept well. I’m not the type of person who can’t sleep because I’m nervous or anything like that (laughs). Rather, I try not to make a fuss about it,” he said.

When asked about Stoke, he said, “It wasn’t a team I heard a lot about, but I heard about it, and I watched the game. (Did you speak to the Stoke manager?) I didn’t speak to him directly. I was informed about the transfer process through my agent.”

“First of all, if you look at the overall style of the league, we have good physicality. So I think I should focus on that, but at the same time, I think I shouldn’t lose my own strengths. Right now, I’m not very good (laughs). That’s why I’m studying now. (When did you start learning?) I started studying in earnest when the transfer process materialized,” he said.

“The number I want is 33,” he said. Stoke’s number 33 is currently vacant. Bae added: “The manager, Lee Min-sung, was very supportive and gave me warm words. He advised me to be confident because I have the ability and I can do well enough if I go. At first, when the transfer rumors came out, I was just joking around, but when the day came, all of my brothers hugged me warmly and said good things to me,” he said, recalling his departure from Daejeon. Naturally, there is greed for the A team. “Of course, my goal is to play for a bigger team, and my dream is to eventually make the A team. But right now, I think I’m just taking steps towards that. I’m going to focus more on the present,” he said.

At the Jeonbuk game, Daejeon fans gave Bae Jun-ho a train ticket for ‘Daejeon→Europe→Daejeon’. It meant to go to Europe and back again. “Of course, I will return to Daejeon when I return home from Europe. I’m very grateful to him. It must have been a difficult decision for the club to make, but they thought of the player and allowed him to transfer, so I’m really grateful for that. The fans also gave me a lot of support, so I will always play with a grateful heart. I will repay them with a good performance. For me, Daejeon is home,” he expressed his gratitude. 카지노

Reaching the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup with coach Kim Eun-joong was a huge boost for Bae Jun-ho. “I definitely came back with a good experience, and I think it was a chance for Korea to showcase a lot of players. I think I have such a good opportunity now because I played in the World Cup. I also have a lot to thank coach Kim Eun-joong for. I was able to grow a lot through the process of being called up to the national team because he was the one who gave me that opportunity.”