Multiple German teams out to acquire Ji Dong-won

South Korean footballer Ji Dong-won, who starred for a German Bundesliga club in the latter part of the last season, has received offers from multiple clubs in the same league, a football source said Friday.

Ji, originally under contract with Sunderland in the English Premier League, was loaned to FC Augsburg in the top German circuit in January. After not appearing in a single game for Sunderland at the start of the 2012-2013 season, Ji played 17 games for FC Augsburg and scored five goals.

Ji’s play helped FC Augsburg finish 15th among 18 clubs and avoid relegation to the second division for next season. In the Bundesliga, the two worst teams are automatically relegated to the lower tier, while the 16th-ranked team must take on the third-best team from the second division in a relegation playoff.

According to the source, privy to the transfer market in European football, half a dozen Bundesliga clubs have shown interest in the 22-year-old forward.

“Borussia Dortmund (ranked second behind Bayern Munich last season) is among the six teams hoping to acquire Ji Dong-won,” the source said. “Ji plans to stay in the Bundesliga rather than return to Sunderland. His destination will be determined in early July.”

The source said only Bundesliga clubs have expressed interest in Ji, adding, “Given the way he performed, Ji is a better fit in the Bundesliga than in the Premier League.”

Another football source said Bundesliga clubs value Ji’s versatility.

“He is not particularly fast, but he’s great at penetrating through open space,” the source said. “He can play up front as the featured striker or can also play on the wing.”

The second source said Ji is seen as a valuable commodity thanks to his young age and to the fact that he won’t have to do military service otherwise mandatory for South Korean men.

Ji was a member of South Korea’s bronze medal-winning team at the 2012 London Olympics. Male athletes who win an Olympic medal of any color receive exemptions from the two-plus years of service and are only required to undergo four weeks of basic training.

Ji left the Chunnam Dragons of South Korea’s K League Classic to sign with Sunderland in June 2011. In his first season, he found the net twice in 19 matches, but never left the bench in his second season before bolting for Germany.

Ji played with fellow South Korean midfielder Koo Ja-cheol on FC Augsburg. Son Heung-min, a third South Korean in the Bundesliga, recently left Hamburger SV to join Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal, after scoring a career-high 12 goals, tying him for ninth in the league.

via Multiple German teams out to acquire Ji Dong-won: source | GlobalPost.