Yang Min-hyuk, a former star player, was active as soon as the No. 1 team was transferred... "It was good before the debut." Local reviews

*This content was translated by AI.

Yang Min-hyuk (20), who terminated his loan contract with Portsmouth, the relegation zone of the English Championship (second division), and built a new nest in Coventry City, the "No. 1 team in the league," started from the first game of the transfer and showed his presence.

Yang Min-hyuk started against Stoke City in the third round of the 2025-2026 FA Cup at Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England on the 11th (Korea time) and played 72 minutes. It has been four days since the transfer to Coventry was confirmed on the 7th.

Yang Min-hyuk, a front-line two-top striker, actively crossed the front in the 36th minute of the first half and 24th minute of the second half, threatening the opponent's goal with his right foot and recording an 88 percent pass success rate. In particular, in the second half, he dug in from the left corner of the penalty box to the center and attempted a mid-range shot with his right foot, but was blocked by the goalkeeper's good defense.

On this day, Yang Min-hyuk boldly shook the opponent's defense from the front, attempting to dribble three times to succeed once and making two passes to the final third area. After digging into the side, a sharp cross that was raised to the gate could not be connected to a teammate, and the opportunity to score an attack point was futile. The ground ball competition made half of the eight successful rounds and earned two fouls. In the counterattack situation, he also induced the opponent's yellow card.

After the game, local favorable reviews continued. "Today's game necessarily required a selection change to check the performance of the new players," said Frank Lampard, the Coventry City coach from Chelsea Legend. "We changed eight starters, and new players joined, and they showed great personal skills," he said, expressing satisfaction with the performance of Yang Min-hyuk and other players.

Local media Coventry Live said, "Earlier in the game, I tried to shoot with Jake Bidwell (wingback) on the left side, but it led to a corner kick. (In the second half) I tried to shoot a strong shot that penetrated inside and threatened the goalkeeper, but I was blocked by the goalkeeper," he said. "It was a good debut. I look forward to more performances in the future."

Yang Min-hyuk, who entered Europe by signing with Tottenham of the English Premier League (EPL) based on his performance in Gangwon FC in 2024, played on loan to Queens Park Rangers in the second half of the 2024-2025 season, his first season in Europe, and moved to Portsmouth in the first half of this season and recently Coventry to continue his adaptation there.

In Portsmouth, they were steadily given a chance to start at the beginning of the transfer, but the opportunity to play was gradually limited, and in the end, Tottenham, the original club, terminated the loan contract for Yang Min-hyuk through the winter transfer market and re-leased it to Coventry. Portsmouth are a relegation team that is in 21st place out of 24 English Championship teams, but newly joined Coventry are likely to be promoted to the EPL next season, racing to the top of the Championship.

After the Coventry loan was confirmed, Yang Min-hyuk said through the club, "Coach (Lampard) explained very clearly how he plans to use me and how I can adapt. I was convinced that this was the right place for me," he said, explaining that the direct "love call" of "Chelsea Legend" Lampard was crucial for the transfer.

Yang Min-hyuk was honored with the Star Award in the Soccer category at the 2024 Futures Star Awards hosted and organized by Star News in 2024, when he was a member of Gangwon-do. Commentator Han Joon-hee, who participated as a winner selection committee member, praised Yang Min-hyuk as "the future of Korean soccer challenging the world."

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*This content was translated by AI.