Kang Seong-Jin – FC Seoul’s multi-faceted attacking prodigy
Kang Seong-Jin or Seong-Jin Kang has been one of South Korea’s most promising attacking talents as he made his debut in 2020 for an FC Seoul side that has been producing a wide array of both attacking and defensive talent. Kang Seong Jin has developed into a starter for FC Seoul this season as he has been deployed on the right wing, despite the 19-year-old believing that his best position is in a central attacking midfield role. His first big inspiration to play football was the fact that his father was a football fan while he looked up to Chung-yong Lee and Sung-yeung Ki as local heroes, modelling his game on Neymar with his enjoyment for dribbling. Du-ri Cha was one of his coaches at youth level as the former fullback played at Frankfurt, Freiburg and Dusseldorf in Germany as the coach has even began to teach Kang German.
Kang Seong-Jin is intelligent with the way he orients his body to receive possession as he loves to receive the ball on the half-turn on his back-foot, allowing the ball to roll across his body before cutting inside to glide past his fullback where he can play slide rule passes to runners or loft crosses into the box. His close control allows him to weave past gluts of players to get into better positions as he can improve at dummying and faking when he receives possession to evade the first defender. The 19-year-old can tuck into the central spaces, receiving possession and working combinations with teammates as he can receive possession in the wide areas or central spaces to thread through balls to runners in behind. His eye for through balls is exceptional and adds another facet to his game and creativity as he can finish dribbling sequences with through balls or he can use his combination play to evade markers and create opportunities for himself or teammates.
At home to Seongham FC, he received possession outside the box, shielding the ball from his defender as the ball rolled to him, slaloming in between two defenders after controlling the ball to play a back-pass for a teammate. Kang Seong-Jin received possession near the touchline, allowing the ball to roll to his back-foot, prodding the ball to his front to work a pass for a teammate in the half-space before making a run into the channels. After an early ball was intercepted by the opposition defence, he would react quickly to regain possession with an interception before nonchalantly threading a pass for a teammate to go 1v1 with the opposition goalkeeper and send a lob wide of the far post. The 19-year-old received another deep pass on his flank to play a one-touch pass for a teammate making a run into the channels to have a high-quality crossing opportunity. In between the lines, he loves the opportunity to tuck into the half-spaces or the central zones and demand possession, consistently making blind-sided movements into space as he controlled a pass near the touchline, playing a back-pass to a teammate and moving into the half-space before moving back to the touchline, receiving possession and threading a slide-rule pass to a runner for a crossing opportunity.
When he receives possession near the flank, his back leg is usually his right foot while his front leg is his stronger left foot as this body shape allows him to let the ball roll across his body before rolling the ball to his stronger left foot to play a pass to a teammate or drive the ball into the centre. With the ball on the opposite flank, he tucked into the ten space as the ball was played for a teammate in a deeper area for Kang to move into a pocket of space in between the lines, before making a run into the channels as a sideways pass was played as he created a passing option in between the lines but the ball was played behind him. The 19-year-old received a switch ball on the right flank, holding the ball to cut inside and angle a perfectly lobbed cross to the back-post where a runner had an opportunity deflected. Kang Seong-Jin can operate as a chance creator in the final third with his movement and combination play in between the lines, his eye for a through ball as well as his ability to cut onto his stronger left foot and cross into the box.
Kang Seong-Jin would create another opportunity when he made a run off his fullback after a deep pass in between the lines, receiving a through ball with the outside of his left-boot to cut past his fullback and square a cross to a runner in the centre of the box which was deflected. At home to Gimcheon, the 19-year-old received a switch ball, controlling possession with the outside of his left foot, elegantly twisting and turning to evade his first defender as there was a moment where he cut inside and could have released the ball, but he drove to the by-line, attempting to twist and turn away from a second defender as he eventually lost possession. There are situations where he can rely on his dribbling too much as this causes him to lose possession in certain situations as adding more efficiency and directness to his ball-carrying sequences would make him a more threatening attacker. He won possession in the opposition box to lay-off a pass for a teammate to have a shot on goal.
Kang Seong-Jin received possession in the wide areas, working a one-two with a teammate in the half-space before moving into the central positions to receive possession, attempting a through ball for a runner in the box which was intercepted. The 19-year-old remained undeterred, receiving possession on the right flank, holding possession to drive the ball into the half-space before playing another searching through ball to the nine-space as the pass was too heavy. The South Korean’s body shape with his first touch is impeccable but there times where he tends to make the wrong decisions with his directional first touch as he dropped into a wing-back zone to receive possession, allowing the ball to roll across his body but prodding the ball backwards with his directional first touch which made it easier for him to be closed down as this forced him into playing the back-pass. He had the space to prod the ball into the centre or play a one-touch pass for a teammate in the centre before making a run into the wide zone to receive possession as he already has the intelligence to do this. He could have also feinted by faking like he was going to receive possession with his ball-near foot before allowing the ball to roll to his back-foot to evade his first defender, drawing a foul or driving the ball into space on the wing. The second action is a routine that Kang needs to add to his repertoire as it will help with him manoeuvring past markers in tight spaces.
At home to Gangwon, Kang Seong Jin came off the bench in the second-half, notching an assist, making a run into the half-space to receive possession, buying some time by cutting onto his left foot to evade a marker before lofting a cross into the box which was headed past the goalkeeper at the near post. Earlier in the second half, he received possession on the counter-attack, driving the ball forward before swivelling past a defender to drive into the centre and thread a pass for a teammate in the ten space. The 19-year-old thrives off situations where he can receive possession on the weak side, having space to work connections with teammates as he received possession on the right flank, threading a pass into the half-space for a runner. He chested down another switch ball to the right flank, cutting past his fullback to skip past another defender as he shielded the ball as he was driving possession into the centre and was brought down. He received possession near the touchline, dropping deep to play a one-touch pass into the half-space before instigating a counter-attack by playing a one-touch progressive pass to a teammate.
Kang Seong-Jin’s blend of distribution, combination play, and ball-carrying makes him an essential conduit in build-up play as well as in the final third as in a build-up situation, he tucked into the half-space, receiving possession and laying off to a teammate before moving in between the lines to receive possession once more, turning to drive the ball forward before spreading a pass to the flank. He is able to receive possession and connect play from the half-spaces or the wide zones as he received possession in the wide zone, holding possession before threading a pass for a teammate in the centre. He received possession in the wide zone once more, holding possession to cut inside and lob a pass into the ten space from deep. At home to Suwon in the K League playoffs, he received possession from a low cross to have a shot tipped wide. He generated another shooting opportunity for himself, receiving a switch ball on the right flank, cutting past two defenders to have a shot saved from the top of the box.
In a defensive situation, he tracked the opposition fullback, dropping deep into his own half to intercept a switch ball. Kang Seong-Jin received possession on the right flank, driving the ball forward and threading a progressive pass into the half-space with his left foot. The 19-year-old received possession on the right flank to cut past a defender and lob a cross into the box with his left foot which was deflected away from goal at the back-post. In the build-up phase, he received possession on the right flank, driving the ball forward before poking a pass to a teammate making a run as he had a shot blocked. After a turnover was won in the pressing phase, the ball was spread to him on the right flank, as he controlled the ball before threading a through ball into the half-space for a teammate to have a crossing opportunity. In a counter-attacking situation, he received possession to play a one-touch lobbed pass to the opposite flank for a teammate to drive into the box and have a crossing opportunity.
At home to Seongham, he received possession in the right half-space to play a triangular passing interchange before moving to the left half-space to receive possession, working a one-two to drive the ball into the centre where he was brought down with a sliding challenge. He cut onto his left foot where he had a lobbed cross deflected for a shot. Kang Seong-Jin’s passing and movement in between the lines is exceptional as he occupies great areas in between the lines to demand possession and work connections in tight spaces. He exhibited this when he received possession on the right flank to play a direct pass into the half-space as the 19-year-old would move into the half-space to receive possession once more, finding a teammate with a pass as he rolled the ball in between two opposition defenders. His crossing choices in the wide areas are impressive as well as he can cut onto his left foot to lob crosses into the box or drive to the by-line to play cut-backs to runners. The 19-year-old muscled past his fullback to have a cut-back blocked as he would go off at half-time. He finished his outing with a 73% pass succession rate in the final third. 2 crosses with 1 on target as well as 1/1 take on.
Kang Seong Jin has rarely had a full 90 minute outing this season as this is a worry about his game as FC Seoul still seem to be carefully managing his emergence as a key player for their team. The 19-year-old has a set of tools that can be honed for him to emerge as another high-quality attacker from South Korea as he has brilliant close control, an eye for a through ball as well as being a brilliant crosser from the wide areas. His ability to play a key role in transition as well as connecting play in the final third with clever passing combinations and movement. In the pressing phase, he can regain possession and use his vision and ball-carrying to recycle possession and create opportunities for his team as he is player who has the potential to make the step up into modern-day European football. He will need to improve his directional first touch when he receives possession, being able to swivel past players and drive into space while he could have a better understanding of when to release the ball in ball-carrying situations as these shortcomings limit his game.
He could be a cost-effective option on the market for a team in one of Europe’s developmental leagues as LASK Linz and Austria Wien in the Austrian Bundesliga would be a suitable landing spot for the 19-year-old. His playing style, combination play and movement in the final third would particularly suit Tim Walter’s Hamburg as he provides a different option to their current set of wide attackers. Teams like Basel, AZ Alkmaar and Groningen have had success developing attackers of his ilk as Las Palmas in the Segunda Liga would be a particularly interesting landing spot for him. Sampdoria, Verona, Bologna, Sassuolo and Torino would also be particularly interesting landing spots for the teenager as Serie A suits his style of play as these clubs would also give him room to grow his skillset and develop. Portugal have a knack of developing and honing attackers like Kang Seong-Jin as Santa Clara, Famalicao, Rio Ave and Vizela would be good clubs for him within the country. Kang Seong-Jin is already one of the hottest prospects in Asia as he will have no shortage of suitors in the transfer market.
