Real Betis joins the race to recruit Lee Kang-in: Will the Mallorca ace have his ‘Last Dance’?

As the summer transfer market approaches, European clubs are increasingly interested in Lee Kang-in (22, Mallorca). Atlético Madrid of Spain’s La Liga, Napoli of Italy’s Serie A, Manchester United of the English Premier League (EPL) and Aston Villa are known to be ‘working behind the scenes’ to recruit Lee Kang-in. In the midst of this, news was reported that Real Betis, a mid-level La Liga team, also jumped into the race to recruit Lee Kang-in. Global soccer media ‘One Football’ said on the 31st (Korean time), “Real Betis moved to recruit Lee Kang-in. Players need to be reinforced to achieve their goal of advancing to the European Football Federation (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) next season. Mallorca They want to recruit Lee Kang-in, a 22-year-old who has shown growth in the .

Real Betis has secured 6th place in the league with one La Liga game left this season. It is higher than Mallorca, which is currently ranked 12th. Recently, they have won tickets for the European Football Federation (UEFA) Europa League (UEL) for the third consecutive season and are consistently proving their competitiveness on the La Liga stage. It seems that they are in a hurry to recruit Lee Kang-in not only to prepare for the European competition next season, but also to advance to the UCL. Lee Kang-in is more likely to remain in La Liga next season wearing Real Betis’ green striped uniform.

Lee Kang-in had the best season of the year. After contributing to Korea’s advancement to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he returned to the league and performed more brilliantly. He stood tall as the team’s ace, scoring 6 goals and 5 assists in 35 league appearances. Lee Kang-in’s performance does not simply appear at the attack point. It is said that he brought creativity and vitality to the team’s offense with his flashing dribbles and sharp passes from the side and center. According to the recent football statistics media ‘Sofa Score’, Lee Kang-in tied with Jude Bellingham for third place (86) in the number of successful dribbles in the top 5 leagues this season, standing shoulder to shoulder with ‘Wolcles’. The only rank higher than Lee Kang-in is Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) and Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain).

Mallorca also seems to be preparing to break up with Lee Kang-in. If there is a team that agrees with the buyout of 15 million euros (approximately 21.2 billion won), it seems that Lee Kang-in will be willing to let go. Last winter, Mallorca blocked the transfer, although several teams, including Atletico and Wolverhampton, showed interest in Kang-in Lee. In response, Lee Kang-in also openly expressed his dissatisfaction, such as ‘unfollowing’ Mallorca’s official social network service (SNS) account. As there are more teams that want Lee Kang-in than before, a breakup is now inevitable.

Spain’s ‘Marca’ also predicted Lee Kang-in’s ‘Last Dance’. ‘Marca’ said, “Lee Kang-in’s match against Rayo Vallecano on the 5th is expected to be the last dance in Mallorca.” “It’s bad news for Mallorca.”

In addition, Marca said that Atletico Madrid is also showing continued interest in Lee Kang-in. According to the media, the transfer fee set by Atletico is 10 million euros (approximately 14 billion won), far short of the buyout. The tug-of-war with Mallorca is expected to continue.

[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]