Stoke City confirm Bae Junho as 15th signing of unprecedented transfer window
Transfer news from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City complete the signing of South Korea youth international Bae Junho
South Korea youth star Bae Junho has joined Stoke City on a four-year contract.
The 20-year-old will train with his new teammates for the first time today after Stoke completed the signing from Daejeon Hana Citizen for an undisclosed fee reported in the local press to be about £2 million, subject to international clearance. He had been in an executive box at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday night to watch Stoke thrash Rotherham 6-1 in the Carabao Cup.
He made his first team breakthrough last season to help Daejeon win promotion to the K-League and has furthered his reputation in the top flight this year, as well as with his performances for South Korea at the under-20s Asian Cup and under-20s World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals in June.
It is the 15th signing of an unprecedented summer transfer window at Stoke, with Alex Neil and his recruitment department almost completely rebuilding the squad – and their business has been increasingly far-reaching.
Technical director Ricky Martin said: “Junho is an emerging talent who caught the eye of our recruitment team during the under-20s World Cup in Argentina this summer.
“We have widened the net in terms of tracking players from outside of the UK and Europe and we have followed Junho’s matches during this K-League season.
“He has continued to demonstrate his technical ability and a profile that we believe fits into the framework of our squad.
“Clearly there needs to be an adaptation phase for Junho as he makes the transition to a new environment away from home, but we are excited by his potential and believe he will continue to improve as he becomes accustomed to our club and to the English game.
“There has been a significant effort from the recruitment and football administration departments, in particular, to finalise this transfer and it is a testament to all involved that Junho has decided to begin his next chapter here amid other interest.”
Junho has played 17 times in the K-League this season around his international commitments and has scored in wins over Daegu and FC Seoul in the past few weeks.
But his ambition has been to get a chance in the big European leagues and there has been no shortage of interest to make that happen.
He said: “This is a dream come true because I have always wanted to have the opportunity to play in England.
“This is only the beginning for me and I intend to have a long and successful career with Stoke City.
“Moving to England will be something which I need to adapt to, on and off the pitch, but I intend to do so as soon as possible and to help the team with my performances.”
Stoke remain in the market for more incomings before the deadline passes at 11pm on Friday night while outgoings are expected too.
