Hopes are high for Lee Kang-in (22-Paris Saint-Germain), who has regained his form after a month away from the team.
“After not joining PSG for more than a month, Lee has been impressive for the national team,” French outlet Foot Mercato reported on Monday (April 19). It’s a good sign for PSG.”
“He has been in good form since arriving in Paris. In fact, his PSG debut was satisfactory and pleased many Parisian fans.” “Signed from Mallorca for a bargain price of €22 million ($314 million), Lee played his role in Luis Enrique’s squad perfectly. However, he was forced to return to South Korea in mid-September to compete in the Asian Games.”
In a PSG shirt this summer, Lee started two French Ligue 1 matches. He was trusted by Enrique, but suffered a quadriceps injury and had to focus on his recovery. He made his comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage on March 20, 안전놀이터before heading to China.
He joined the Asian Games squad not long after returning from injury and with his form not yet restored. Under Hwang Sun-hong’s management, Lee gradually increased his playing time. He was able to improve his form and win a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. It was a best-case scenario.
After the Asian Games, Lee Kang-in was physically exhausted due to the tight competition schedule, but he immediately joined the national soccer team led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann. There were calls for Lee to be rested, but he started against Tunisia and Vietnam.
It turned out to be ‘healing’. Against Tunisia, Lee scored two second-half goals. In the 10th minute of the second half, with the score tied at 0-0, Lee scored his A-match debut with a direct header from a free kick he earned. Just two minutes later, he scored his second goal with his left foot. He added another goal against Vietnam four days later.
Heading to Paris, Lee was able to improve his form and game with the national team. It wasn’t an easy decision for PSG to send Lee to the Asian Games in the middle of the season, but it turned out to be a good one.
Foot Mercato said, “Lee Kang-in’s two brilliant performances (in the A-Match) have convinced me of his bright future in Korea. Moreover, Lee’s resurgence could be a big boost for PSG, which is currently lacking confidence in its strength.”
PSG, considered the “top dog” of the French Ligue 1, is currently in third place in the league. PSG (15 points) are not far behind AS Monaco (17 points) and OGC Nice (16 points) above them, but they have had a poor start to the season considering they were usually at the top of the table. On the last five days, they suffered a humiliating 1-4 defeat in their UCL group stage second leg against Newcastle United.
Upon his return to PSG, Lee will have a busy schedule. PSG will host Strasbourg on Nov. 22 and AC Milan on Nov. 26 in the third leg of their UCL group stage.