Kim Yong-hak – Portimonense’s tricky winger
Kim Yong-hak came through the Pohang Steelers youth system, attending Pohang Steel Middle School as well as Pohang Steel High School as a strong performance in the Under 17 World Cup in Brazil attracted European scouts. This resulted in a loan to Portimonense in Portugal in early 2022 as the 19-year-old has been playing with their U23 side as he recently earned a promotion to the first team in the cup games. Settling has been difficult for the teenager but he speaks a fair amount of both English and Portuguese which will make the transition easier as after a strong showing in the AFC U20 Asian Cup, he is a player to watch with South Korea in the U20 World Cup later this year. His loan to Portimonense ends this summer as if the Portuguese side do not make the move permanent, he will be a player to follow in the summer transfer window.
Kim Yong-hak is a multi-faceted attacker who is able to play in a variety of positions in the attacking line as he can play on both flanks, in the centre or closer to the striker as he can also operate in a variety of systems. The 19-year-old looks strong as a left-footed right winger as he can receive possession on the flank, weaving past markers into the centre of the pitch as he has a fairly well-rounded set of skills for this role. The South Korean can receive switches, looking to flick the ball back to evade his first marker as he can weave into the centre to work one-twos with teammates and move into space as well as generating shooting opportunities for himself and teammates. He shows no qualms in driving defenders to the by-line and cutting back to generate high quality low crossing opportunities from the by-line. His close control and nimble dribbling style allow him to be a constant threat in 1v1 situations while he can tuck into the half-spaces or centre of the pitch to receive possession in between the lines.
In South Korea’s opener against Oman, he received possession on the right flank, using a step-over to evade his marker and drive to the by-line, prodding the ball forward with his right foot as he attempted a cut-back which was blocked. The 19-year-old received possession on the right flank in a 1v1 situation, controlling the ball with his right foot then using his left to skip past his marker and drive into the centre, looking to play a lob to a runner which was intercepted. Kim Yong-hak is two-footed in his dribbling style as he is comfortable driving past markers with both feet as once he earns a yard of space, he can cut back to his left foot to lob a cross into the box or drive to the by-line to work a cut-back with his right. The teenager is extremely comfortable receiving possession in the centre of the pitch as he can use shield the ball or use elaborate feints to buy himself a yard of space as he received a lay-off, controlling the ball with his left, holding off a marker to drive the ball forward and play an outside of the boot pass to the nine-space.
Kim Yong-hak would open the scoring, being played in with a pass as he made a run into space to adjust his body and guide a shot past the goalkeeper with his left foot. He received possession on the right flank in another 1v1 situation, threading a ball to a runner before moving into a pocket of space in the half-space to receive possession with his left, skip past a defender to drive the ball to the by-line before cutting back a low cross into the box as a teammate at the near post was unable to divert the opportunity. The 19-year-old controlled a switch ball with his chest, cutting past a defender to drive inside to play another progressive pass to the nine-space. At the beginning of the second-half, he received a switch on the right flank, driving the ball forward to thread a left-footed pass to a teammate in the wide zone before making a run into the half-space to thread a pass for his teammate in the box.
In the build-up phase, the South Korean tucked into the half-space to receive a deep pass in between the lines, laying off a pass to the flank before making a run into the half-space where he received possession, skipping past a defender before changing direction to beat a second man as he cut-back a pass to a teammate outside the box. In the opposition half, his team regained possession from a pressing situation as he received possession, playing a one-touch pass to a teammate and moving into the centre to receive a lay-off and send a shot wide. Kim Yong-hak can generate shooting opportunities with his dribbling as he can cut inside and shoot while he can also evade markers by working connections to drive into central positions to generate shooting opportunities. The 19-year-old received possession in the wide zone, controlling possession and working a pass to a teammate before making a run into the channel to receive a lobbed pass and cut-back for Sung Jin-yong to apply the finish.
Against Tajikistan, he received possession in the deeper areas of the right flank, cutting inside to lob a progressive pass to the nine-space. Kim Yong-hak made a run into the half-space to receive possession, controlling the ball with his right foot before using the inside of his foot to cut past a defender at the by-line as he ushered the ball to the outside of his left boot to generate a pocket of space where he fired a shot over the bar. In a defensive situation, he tucked inside to make an interception and play a one-touch lob to a teammate making a run in behind. He received possession on the right flank, controlling the ball with the outside of his left boot to cut-back to lob another switch pass into the box. The 19-year-old received possession in the half-space, controlling the ball with his back to his opponent to feint and drive the ball forward, evading one defender before skipping past a second as he attempted to drive to the by-line and lost possession.
Kim Yong-hak has a good understanding of elaborate feints when he receives possession in the central spaces, particularly receiving possession on the half-turn and attracting the ball to his front foot before using his body to shield the ball and control possession with his back-foot. He needs to utilize this skill and understanding more while it will also be integral in receiving possession with his back foot, especially in the wide areas as he looks to cut the ball back too often. He had a situation where he received a deep pass in the centre, laying the ball off to a teammate before making a movement into the wide areas where he received possession with his stronger left foot which is normally his front foot. This forces him to push the ball backwards which is good in some instances but not all instances. His body shape is also an issue as he was facing the ball as he should have an open body shape near the touch line where he can receive the ball with his back-foot and drive into pockets of space on the flank as in the worst-case scenario, he can draw a foul with a late challenge.
It is integral that Kim Yong-hak relies on a variety of manoeuvres rather than a singular manoeuvre as his ability to cut-inside is one of his strongest suits, but he could develop if he can challenge defenders with other dribbling sequences. The 19-year-old received a switch on the right flank, driving towards his defender before cutting inside by switching possession to the outside of his left boot as he attempted a lob into the box which was too heavy. His cut-inside and lob sequences also show potential for him to grow as a creator from these situations as he the potential to generate high quality crossing situations from the by-line and half-spaces. He can also create opportunities from set-pieces such as corners as he curled a cross into the box which resulted in his side having a shot blocked. In the second-half, he began to operate from a more central position, receiving the ball on the counter to drive possession forward to spread a pass to the wide areas.
After another turnover, he received possession to drive the ball forward to thread another through ball which a teammate was unable to control. He received possession in the half-space, with two players closing him down to back-heel for a teammate before making a run in between the opposition centre-backs. Kim Yong-hak dropped into a pocket of space in the deeper-lying midfield area to cut past an opposition player and spread possession to the wide areas as he made a run into the half-space for a lobbed pass. In the knockout phase against China, he received a lobbed pass to turn away from a defender and draw a foul in the deeper areas. Against China, he was played in a position closer to the strikers as he made a run off the nine-space, holding off a marker before using his first touch to cut back with possession and spread a pass to the wide areas.
In another sequence, Kim Yong-hak received possession in the right half-space to cut back and switch possession to the opposite flank. In another role, the 19-year-old showed an intelligence for making runs off the striker as when his striker would drop deep, he would make a vertical run in behind from the wide areas as a pass to him was intercepted as once the ball was played to the right flank, he made a run to the near post before stopping his feet and taking two hitch steps into the centre of the box before making a run in between the two defenders for a low cross which was too heavy for him. He received possession in between the lines to feint and prod the ball forward with his back-foot as he worked a one-two with a teammate before making a run into the half-space as he received possession for a back-heel as his teammate had a shot blocked. In a counter-attacking situation, he made a run into the half-space, using his first touch to cut backwards with his right, using the outside of his right boot to skip past a defender as he had a shot blocked. Kim Yong-hak received possession in between the lines to take a touch and play the ball to the wide areas as he received possession in the ten space with his back to goal, turning to drive into the box, skip past a defender and drive a shot across the face of goal.
Kim Yong-hak’s biggest strength is he thrives at dribbling into crossing and shooting situations as he can create his own shots. There is an element of two-footedness about his game as he can drive the ball forward with his right foot to switch possession to his left-foot to shoot. This allows him to go either side of a fullback as this is crucial when driving to the by-line as he can drive to the by-line with his right before cutting back past his defender to generate space for a shot or a cross. There is some potential with his crossing, especially with the areas that he is capable of manoeuvring into as he can cut-back and drive into the half-space to lob crosses into runners as well as driving to the by-line to play cut-backs into the box. The 19-year-old is not just a strong dribbler, but he is strong with his combination play and making runs into the channels to generate shooting and crossing opportunities.
In terms of his runs, as a right winger, he will be able to make outside-in runs into the channels to receive possession to square crosses across the face of goal or have high quality shooting opportunities. The 19-year-old will need to improve his first touch as he is too reliant on cutting back with possession as although this manoeuvre could prove effective, he needs to ascertain when it would be better to drive the ball towards goal. He could make runs in behind to receive possession, using the outside of his left boot to drive possession towards goal and alter his body shape to curl shots in at the far post or drive the ball to the near post. In the wide areas, the South Korean needs to allow the ball to roll to his back-foot to drive possession forward when he sees space as he needs to be less reliant on receiving the ball with his right foot which forces him to push the ball backwards.
Kim Yong-hak can play in a variety of positions as he can also operate as a second striker, especially in a system with a back-three, dropping in between the lines to receive possession and connect play. However, he has the tools to be an effective right winger as his skillset is akin to Artur from Red Bull Bragantino as he wide range of tools can be put to good use in the position. He also has the ability to be effective in cutting inside and playing reverse through balls to runners in the channels. The 19-year-old can also act as build-up conduit, tucking into the half-space to receive possession in between the lines while he can also receive possession in the wide zone, playing one-touch passes to teammates in the half-spaces before making runs into the channels to receive possession and create opportunities. Ricardo Orsolini’s ability of playing one-touch lobbed passes into the centre from the wide areas would be applicable to his skillset and his game.
Kim Yong-hak’s loan from Pohang Steelers to Portimonense will end in the summer as he will also have the opportunity to show his skills at the U20 World Cup before the summer transfer window, so he could be a hot prospect. His loan in Portugal could also rely on his team staying up as if Portimonense decide against signing him permanently, he will be a highly undervalued prospect in the summer window. FC Utrecht under Michael Silberbauer would be a particularly strong landing spot, given their playing style as he could be a replacement for Taylor Booth. Feyenoord, PSV, Ajax and AZ Alkmaar would also be good moves for him while in the Austrian Bundesliga, LASK Linz, Austria Wien and Rapid Wien would all be good places for his development. Ligue 2 clubs like Bordeaux and EA Guingnamp while Reims, Montpellier, Toulouse, Brest and Strasbourg would be good landing spots as well. Playing in Italy for a team like Bologna, Sassuolo, Monza, Empoli or whichever team hires Francesco Farioli. In the Spanish Segunda Liga, Sporting Gijon, Real Zaragoza, Las Palmas and Leganes would be good moves for him. It will be interesting to track the 19-year-old’s progress in the next six months.
