Doyoung a 'potential game changer'

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

We spoke to some South Korean football experts for the lowdown on our latest signing.

Richie Mills

2025-03-27T06:00+00:00

Yoon Doyoung is one of the best young prospects in South Korea. 📷 Paul Hazlewood.

Brighton have a future ‘game-changer’ on their hands in rising South Korean star Yoon Doyoung.

That is according to K-League commentator Paul Neat, who has high hopes for the 18-year-old following the news of his move from Daejeon Hana Citizen to Albion.

He added that the winger, who will remain at the South Korean club until the end of June, has bags of potential and is likely to excite Seagulls fans.

“Yoon is a player with great close control and a very good dribbler with a low centre of gravity who can turn on a sixpence. He likes to get on the ball and take players on and has bags of confidence,” said Neat.

“I think he's a player that will get Brighton fans on the edge of their seats, particularly as something of a game-changer or impact sub once he’s eased into the team.

“The ball seems to stick to his foot. He's spoken about how he likes Lionel Messi, and you can definitely see that influence in him. He's only made 23 first-team appearances for Daejeon but he’s a very important player and he’ll be a big loss for them when he leaves in the summer.”

Yoon Doyoung will join Albion this summer and is likely to spend next season on loan. 📷 Paul Hazlewood.

The teenager, who has signed a deal with Brighton until 2030, made his debut for Daejeon last May and became the third-youngest scorer in the league’s history when he scored his first professional goal four months later.

Fast forward to the present, and Yoon - who is predominantly a right winger but has played in right midfield and as a striker - is primed to head to the Premier League. But less than a year ago, his outlook would have been quite different.

“He made his first-team debut in late May but the manager [Lee Min-sung] had just left. The team was coming to the realisation that this was a relegation battle, despite pre-season talk of a push for the Asian Champions League,” said Neat.

“His role became very much part of a system under the new manager, asking to do a specific job tactically, playing on the right-hand side of a midfield four to help with the high press but we were able to see flashes of brilliance from him, taking players on and helping Daejeon get high up the pitch.

“It’s almost like he’s an accomplished musician but is just playing for the song, rather than trying to show how many scales he knows.”

Ross Davis, who writes for K-League English, believes that while Yoon is still a bit ‘raw’ a loan spell next season would do him good. Plus, learning from a certain Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma could be a big help.

Yoon Doyoung gets to know his new surroundings. 📷 Paul Hazlewood.

“Before Tottenham’s Yang Min-Hyeok’s meteoric rise last season at Gangwon FC, Yoon was considered the brightest talent in his age group,” said Davis. “He has a great work ethic and puts in the effort defensively. His finishing, including heading, could certainly be better, and like most young wingers, his decision-making in the final third needs improvement. He’s definitely up there with the best dribblers in the league - albeit a bit raw - and his dribbling success rate reflects that.

“He’ll need time to settle, and a loan to the Championship would probably be beneficial in helping him adapt, as is the case with Yang Min-Hyeok. But with Brighton’s incredible track record of developing young players - along with the opportunity to learn from Kaoru Mitoma - I’m confident that the future is very exciting for Yoon, and I’m sure he can make an impact there down the line.”

Despite being in the embryonic stages of his professional career, Neat believes Yoon, who helped South Korea reach the semi-finals of the under-20s Asian Cup earlier this month, has a wise head on young shoulders.

“What I like about him is that he is just unfazed and is really level-headed. I think that confident but calm approach will serve him well,” added Davis. “He is very highly rated and is seen as one of the brightest prospects of the last ten years, maybe even longer.”