South Korea’s answer to Peter Crouch, the 1.96m tall Ulsan forward is likely to be heading to Europe sooner rather than later. Apparently he turned down a chance to move to Spartak Moscow in the winter, and he is on the radar of several English clubs including Leicester City.
The national team forward has hit the net three times so far for his country and led the line against Algeria and Belgium in the 2014 World Cup as well as being part of the team that won a gold medal at the Asian Games.
That medal could have a significant impact on his career as it carries with it an exemption from military service, making him a more attractive proposition for foreign clubs.
Kim has spent his entire career at Ulsan Hyundai after joining the south-east club straight from Chungang University in Seoul. He has scored over ninety times in the six seasons that he has been at the club with his best season domestically coming in 2013 when he scored nineteen times in the league.
He was also a huge part of the Asian Champion’s League winning team in 2012, scoring six goals as Ulsan went on to become the champions of Asia. The 2014 season was marred by injury with Kim Shin-Wook only managing to play twenty times in the league that year before missing the end of the season after getting injured in the Asian Games tournament in September.
He hasn’t hit top form this season either as Ulsan have struggled in the league, after nineteen games he only has six goals to his name despite many domestic critics expecting him to be this season’s top scorer in the K-League.
If not for his injury, he would likely be playing in Europe already and now that he is fully recovered it is likely that he will be making a move in the near future.
Written by Steven Price
Check out more of his work on everything South Korean football at the excellent K-League Footy
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