Korean star Kwon impressing at Dijon
DIJON: With five goals and two assists this season, South Korean attacking midfielder Kwon ChangHoon represents a gamble that has paid off for Dijon, the modest French club he joined a year ago. Kwon has become one of the motors of a Dijon team that are in the top half of Ligue 1, have the best attack outside the top four and face their biggest test of the season when they travel to the mighty Paris Saint-Germain today evening.
The 23-year-old left Suwon Bluewings in his native South Korea in January 2017 for Burgundy and a four-and-a-half-year contract. Dijon paid a fee of 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million), one of the biggest transfers in their history. “We learned there was a player at Suwon Bluewings who was young, lively, creative and very strong one-onone,” said Sebastien Larcier, in charge of scouting at Dijon.
Kwon made his debut for Suwon, one of the top clubs in the K League, at the age of 18 in April 2012. He appeared for the national team for the first time in 2015 and has played 14 times for South Korea scoring three goals. “I had offers from clubs in the Persian Gulf and in China but I wanted to come to Europe to progress. Dijon were the most persuasive,” Kwon said. He made eight appearances, just two as a starter, after arriving last season, but he nevertheless gave glimpses of the qualities that the club had bet on.
“When he arrived we knew very well that he would not be at his best immediately. He was changing countries,” said Dijon coach Olivier Dall’Oglio. “Moving from South Korea to France demands a period of adjustment. We had to allow him time to discover Dijon, to find his place in the team and the club and to acclimatise to Ligue 1.” ATTRACTING ADMIRERS
“I aimed to use summer training to really work with the group and get to know my team-mates better,” said Kwon. Since the start of the season, and even though he still speaks only a few words of French, he has been one of Dijon’s most-used players appearing in 18 league matches and starting 15.
“He works hard. He understands very quickly what is being asked of him and is highly professional in his attitude,”, said Dall’Oglio. His performances are beginning to arouse interest outside France, though Dijon have not yet received any offers.
“We know that English clubs and, above all, German clubs are following him and regularly send scouts,” said Larcier. Two Bundesliga strugglers, Hamburg and Freiburg, have been particularly assiduous. For the moment, Kwon, who has never played at the Parc des Princes, prefers to focus on Ligue 1 and testing himself against the likes of Neymar. “I am an optimist,” he said. “Dijon is a team that plays attacking football and, personally, I’m comfortable with that philosophy.” Kwon is not the only South Korean sparkling in Lige 1 this season. Suk Hyun-Jun, a 26-year-old striker on loan from Porto, is the top scorer at Troyes with five goals. The pair could give their national team a French flavour in the World Cup this summer where South Korea have been drawn in a group with Germany, Mexico and Sweden.