Real Mallorca playmaker Kang-In Lee has not had the most straightforward career. The 22-year-old was already a star in his own right in South Korea before he was a professional footballer in Spain, but as he begins to mature into a fine player, La Liga are set to lose him.
Having spent teenagehood in Spain coming through the famed Paterna academy system, there was little doubt that Kang-In was talented. Yet not only was he cutting it through the youth ranks, he was regularly the best.
As a result of Valencia’s bizarre management, he was let go to Real Mallorca on a free, where he could grow and evolve. Naturally a number ten, Kang-In showed flashes of his ability in his first campaign with the Islanders, contributing to three goals in 30 appearances in a struggling Mallorca side.
Much more stable in their second season under Javier Aguirre, the Mexican has turned him into the creative hub at the heart of his Mallorca side. Now with 13 goal contributions and an impressive partnership with Vedat Muriqi up front, Kang-In was a major part of their first top half finish in nearly a decade. Not only that, he brought a new viewership, with Mallorca starting a Korean Twitter page for their new fans. Companies in the South-East Asian market like W88 bookies no doubt are more attracted to La Liga with regional stars involved.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
📸 @theKFA pic.twitter.com/S1OS81LlVB
— RCD_MallorcaKR (@RCD_MallorcaKR) June 17, 2023
Given his form, it was always likely that he would move on this summer, but it appears he will moving to Paris Saint-Germain.
While that will no doubt provide an ample boost for Kang-In in marketing and financial terms, the chances of him reaching a higher level as a player are in question. PSG have a poor history of developing youngsters into starters, and competition will be fierce at the Parc des Princes. Having just rubber-stamped his first full campaign as a starter, this was set to be crucial coming season for Kang-In’s development. As it is, he is likely to spend much of it on the bench.
Kang-In has been slated for stardom for some time, The Guardian even highlighting his talent as far back as 2018. Yet there is little rush, at 22, to become a star and skip stages of development by moving from a midtable Mallorca to a Champions League-chasing PSG.
Atletico Madrid were rumoured to be interested in Kang-In, and seemingly did not want to front up the money for him. Quite apart from the opportunity for Atletico to grow their profile, the South Korean would have had the chance to grow into a big club without the red-hot spotlight at PSG. While Kang-In cannot be blamed for choosing the French giants, it might have closed the door on the ideal stepping stone in his career.
