Last week we noted that 18-year-old South Korean phenom and future Tottenham signing Yang Min-hyeok was nominated for a couple of significant awards at the conclusion of the K-League season. Over the holiday break, the K-League had their awards ceremony, and Yang was awarded the Young Player of the Year award, along with a place in the K-League Best XI for the recently completed 2024 season.
Tottenham Hotspur commemorated the awards on their socials this morning.
The K-League isn’t exactly a top tier world football league, but this is still pretty impressive for a kid who only just turned 18 and who is playing in his second season of professional football. Yang had 11 goals and 6 assists for Gangwon FC and was considered a “shoo-in” for the Young Player of the Year award. Yang was also, notably, nominated for the overall MVP award, but he lost out to veteran keeper Jo Hyeon-woo.
It’s already been announced that Yang will be joining Tottenham for training and acclimation purposes very soon (if he isn’t there already) ahead of his formal signing when the January transfer window opens next month. I’d advise fans to temper their expectations for Yang — while he plays in a position of need for Tottenham, who are experiencing an injury crisis on the front line, the jump from the K-League to the Premier League is MASSIVE. I’m not saying that we might not see him play a few minutes here and there, but he won’t be added to the Europa League roster unless there are other player departures, and it’s much more important that he works on adapting to life in England and becoming besties with Son Heung-Min. A reasonable expectation for Yang is that we don’t see him at all this season, and depending on his acclimation and training he could even head out on loan next season. He’s one for the future, and that’s fine.
On the other hand, maybe he hits the ground running and cooks. And if Yang can cook, so can you!
