Man City interested in 19-year-old rising Asian starlet from La Liga – A useful long-term investment?

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Sourav Ghosh

Why Manchester City signing Lee Kang-In would be a good move by Guardiola

According to La Razon (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester City have shown an interest in Lee Kang-In. The Valencia midfielder is said to be unhappy at the club and isn’t keen on extending his contract beyond his current deal which ends in 2022. Hence the club is open to receiving offers for the South Korean.

Profile

Lee Kang-In is a 19-year-old South Korean midfielder who plays for La Liga side Valencia. He started his youth career at Incheon United in his homeland and also had a spell at Flyings FC from 2009 to 2011. It was after that he joined Valencia’s youth setup.

Spending six years in the youth team, he was promoted to the U-19 side in 2017. Within one season, he was again promoted to Valencia Mestalla which is their ‘B’ side. In 26 appearances for the Mestalla side, Lee scored 4 times and assisted twice. During his time there, he was often called up to the senior team.

fbl esp liga valencia sevilla
Sevilla’s Brazilian midfielder Fernando Reges (C) and Sevilla’s Spanish midfielder Oliver Torres (L) vie with Valencia’s South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in during the Spanish league football match between Valencia CF and Sevilla FC at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on October 30, 2019. (Photo by JOSE JORDAN / AFP) (Photo by JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)

In October 2018, he was handed his first-team debut against Real Valladolid. Doing so, he set several records in La Liga. At the start of 2019, he was officially promoted to the first-team. So far he has made 44 appearances for them scoring twice and assisting thrice. Lee has also featured thrice for South Korea making his debut last year.

Lee Kang-In – One for the future

Over the last few seasons, Man City have not been afraid to spend big on youngsters such as Gabriel Jesus or thrust academy players such as Phil Foden into their first-team. They recruited a 20-year-old Ferran Torres who is starring for the team this season. It shows how far they have come when it comes to trusting in youth.

In Lee Kang-In they would have one of the finest young talents who is rapidly making strides in the Spanish first division.

For all the doom and gloom surrounding Valencia, Lee has been one of the shining lights. A versatile player capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or on either of the wings, he is a tricky dribbler of the ball, capable of bagging the occasional goal.

valencia cf v real valladolid cf la liga
VALENCIA, SPAIN – JULY 07: Ferran Torres of Valencia CFv and Lee Kang-in of Valencia CF looks the warm up during the Liga match between Valencia CF and Real Valladolid CF at Estadio Mestalla on July 07, 2020 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

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Verdict

It might look that City don’t need another midfielder with the likes of De Bruyne, Foden, Bernardo and so on. But the fact is Lee wouldn’t be brought in to make an instant impact. He will be one for the future. So, a move for him the summer should be a no-brainer.