Kang-in Lee, “Luis Enrique compatible” player par excellence and… half-time scorer

Are four players with 12 goals better than one with 40? This is Luis Enrique’s theory. For now, his PSG is having all the difficulty in the world to forget Kylian Mbappé, who found the net 44 times last season. No major offensive recruits last summer. Only Désiré Doué, poached for €50 million from Rennes and who does not very often have the opportunity to show his talents on the pitch. In any case, it is obvious that the Olympic vice-champion is not intended to score with all his might. Still, PSG’s offensive difficulties are real. And they hurt. Especially in the Champions League. Three goals in total in C1. In L1, Paris averages three goals… per match, or 33 in total. In national games, the “Lucho” theory takes on its full meaning. And Kang-in Lee is one of the main beneficiaries.

Trained in Valencia and revealed in Mallorca, the 23-year-old South Korean international (33 caps, 9 goals) is obviously not a born scorer. 10 goals in 135 matches in Spain. For the national team, he has only scored three times in his last 15 matches, including zero in the last six. The fact remains that PSG’s second top scorer, behind the untenable Bradley Barcola (10 goals), is him. Not Ousmane Dembélé (5 goals), Marco Asensio (2 goals) and even less the downgraded Randal Kolo Muani (2 goals). And certainly not Gonçalo Ramos, injured in the ankle during the first day of the championship and who will soon resume.

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Six goals in 15 games

After his double in Angers (1-4), Lee, who represents a goose that lays golden eggs in terms of jersey sales and an ideal gateway for the Asian market in general and South Korea in particular, in is at six achievements in 2024-25. Already one more than in 2023-24 and therefore 11 in total with Paris-SG. The Spanish-speaking South Korean has participated in all 15 PSG matches this season, that helps, for eight starts. Capable of playing in the middle or on one side, he has also and above all evolved into a false 9. Not necessarily the place where we first imagine him. “That’s how professional football is, it’s a team, not all players can be in their favorite position”Luis Enrique recently commented on this positioning of Lee.

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He has an incredible quality for our football: he does not lose the ball, despite the pressure

Luis Enrique

Its main qualities, however, lie elsewhere. “He’s a player who arrived last year, from Mallorca. He reinforced the ideas we had about him at the start. Very good level, international, lots of quality, great work capacity to score, make assists, versatility, he can play in several positions”noted Luis Enrique at the start of the season. And to add, more recently, after a goal by Kang-in Lee against Rennes (3-1): “He’s such a versatile player. With an incredible quality for our football: he does not lose the ball, despite the pressure. He played false number 9 but with a lot of freedom. He was exceptional. He was able to score a goal like a smart striker, taking the rebound. He had a great match. He has the ability to pass, to shoot. I am delighted with this very complete match”. This is not the first time that the Spanish coach has taken out the polishing brush for his number 19, recruited for €22 million last year. “He has it all”often said “Lucho”.

One thing is certain: except in the event of a turnover, the wings are promised to Barcola and Dembélé. In the middle, the trio Vitinha/Zaire-Emery/Neves is ahead. If he wants to start, Lee therefore has every interest in shining in false 9. His technical qualities in keeping the ball are a major asset. He has a very good first step, he can eliminate… even if he is often too shy with the ball. A serious and precise player, dynamic and energetic if not a physical monster (1.73m). Last but not least, he can combine with midfielders and wingers without worry.

And like we said, it’s not his choice. Besides, his favorite position is when he is “on the pitch (smile), like all the other players. I will be 100% whatever the position, to help my colleagues and ensure that the team wins”. The kind of speech that can only please Luis Enrique, who was already under the spell of the boy’s qualities when he played in La Liga. “In this squad, I have often said that what I like most is the versatility of the playersrecalled the 54-year-old Asturian on Thursday at a press conference. Many players have the ability to play multiple positions. It’s very good. It’s hard for the opponent to know where these players are going to play. If we are versatile, we have more chances to play in different positions and in our project. I hope that in a short time, we will have two very good players per position to have a lot of competition. If we can do this, the club and the team will benefit. Maybe the players will play less than they hope but that’s the path we want to go.»

The message got through. Kang-in Lee is not complaining. “When I play in 9, Luis Enrique requires a lot of mobility from me, I think it’s good. We can thus create spaces and opportunities. With this mobility, this freedom, we can have more opportunities and score more goals.he emphasized in recent weeks, at a press conference, ensuring that he “try to improve every day and work hard to help the team. This is the most important. We all try to do it and that’s what makes this team strong. I try to progress and progress again!”

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Bleeding in L1, non-existent in C1

Issue ? In this role as specific as it is new for him, even if he was already tested there last season, Kang-in Lee is as poor in Ligue 1 as he is non-existent in the Champions League. He scored his six goals in the championship… The bubble on the European scene. Holder in C1 against Arsenal (2-0 defeat) and against Eindhoven (1-1), the native of Icheon inherited a 4 and a 3 in the team’s ratings. Figaro. Good will is not always enough. Especially in high-level sport.

Less collective mastery of PSG overall in C1, especially the match against Arsenal, too much physical density for him. “I wasn’t very physical when I was small, not a lot of strength, speed, so I had to find my style, that is to say be a technical player. Now I’m at a big club, I’m trying to improve in all areas to help the team.”he said during his conference, before PSG-PSV. In any case, this is not a pressure problem for the winner of the 2019 Copa del Rey with Valencia. “There is more pressure at PSG, it’s true. It’s a big club. But again, I try to improve to help the team, to be a better footballer, that’s how I move forward.jure-t-il.

To see if Luis Enrique will try the experience again with Kang-in Lee in false 9 during the crucial match on the Bayern Munich field, Tuesday (9 p.m.), during the fifth day of “Champions”. In the meantime, place in Toulouse. The Parisian leader receives the 10th in the Ligue 1 ranking this Friday (9 p.m.), for the 12th day. A context and an opponent clearly more in the ropes of the Parisian attack and Kang-in Lee, while awaiting the return of Gonçalo Ramos… and the winter transfer window.