Transfer window re-opened yesterday and of course many of the players are in the rumor mill.
| Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Lee Chung Yong | Bolton | Blackpool (Cup) | None |
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Kim Bo Kyung | Cardiff City | @Newcastle (Cup) | None |
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Yun Suk Young | Doncaster | Stevenage (Cup) | None |
| Saturday | 4:00:00 PM | Kim Young Kiu | Almeria | Granada | BeIn |
| Sunday | 9:00:00 AM | Ji Dong Won | Sunderland | Carlisle (Cup) | None |
| Sunday | 9:00:00 AM | Ki Sung Yueng | Sunderland | Carlisle (Cup) | None |
| Winter Break | n/a | Hong Jeong Ho | Augsburg | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Son Heung Min | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Park Joo Ho | Mainz | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Park Ji Sung | PSV Eindhoven | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Koo Ja Cheol | Wolfsburg |
Ji had a surprise start and did alright on the right wing, or at least as one could expect in a player's first significant chunk of minutes in many months. He was moving well with good decisions but his touch was a bit heavy. He may get another chance to start in the cup this weekend. As for moving to Germany, certainly that's possible and maybe even probable but given that he's out of contract soon, it could be prolonged battle due to German clubs' frugality vs. Sunderland's need for transfer funds.
Ki also started and the load of so many matches in a row looked to weigh down Ki particularly in the second half. He still looked great when he did have energy but with Sunderland in a relegation battle, I think that he will be rested. As for transfers, I doubt Ki would make this permanent now to a club with so much relegation risk. Certainly his agent will most likely want to gauge the market after the season if not after the world cup.
Lee Chung Yong started and played nearly 80 minutes. One could hope that he would move back to top-flight football (and certainly has the quality to) but it seems he's too needed at Bolton and also hasn't been playing great enough to warrant the fee necessary to pry him free.
Kim Bo Kyung has started two in a row so he may get a rest but with a new manager, its unclear what's going to be the plan. No transfer in his immediate future.
Yun Suk Young appears to be in loan limbo. I'd suspect that QPR would be more than willing to re-loan him and Doncaster has mentioned that they would want to extend his loan but hasn't happened yet and his status for Saturday is in question. He couldn't play vs parent club QPR.
Kiu isn't going anywhere and I doubt he'll play this weekend.
No transfers expected for HJH, SHM, PJH and PJS.
Koo Ja Cheol on the other hand is caught up in a variety of wants but Wolfsburg will want good money AND need to buy a player of their own in return. At Wolfsburg, Koo has been played out of position and has been hurt a lot resulting in him probably starting the second half of the season on the bench. Clearly he's too wanted and too valuable for that spot and with Arnold emerging and if Diego stays, Wolfsburg will be well stocked at Koo's preferred 10 spot. At DM, Medojevic has played well and Wolfsburg have cover. The math says he leaves but do Augsburg or Mainz have the funds for a move?
And finally the never-ending story of PCY. With Arsenal having no healthy strikers, could PCY suit up in Saturday's FA Cup match (12:15 PM on Fox)? It wouldn't be a complete surprise given Wenger's disinterest in cup matches. I expect when league action returns, PCY will be lucky to warm a seat on the bench.
As for a move for PCY there was clearly a fair amount of interest in August despite his issues over the past couple years. The biggest hurdle remains his large salary and guaranteed amount (1.5 years by my figure) vs what Ligue 1 teams can afford. Clearly PCY wants playing time ahead of World Cup, but Wenger will want to be holding out for mid-east sized fees. Perhaps this is the window where this disaster finally gets resolved.
