'Korean soccer ace' Lee Kang-in makes a bold transformation, changing positions... Not on the wing, but tested as 'top striker in a front two'

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Kang-in (25, Atletico Madrid), who is no longer playing on the wing but as a 'striker at the very front,' is making waves.

After leaving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to join Atletico (AT) Madrid, Lee Kang-in is taking on a new role. While he has primarily lined up on the right wing for both PSG and the South Korean national team, there is growing expectation that he will be deployed as one of the two strikers in Atletico's 4-4-2 formation.

Already during his first training session after joining AT Madrid, Lee Kang-in was positioned in the new role. According to a report by Spanish outlet Marca on the 7th (Korea time), ahead of the friendly match against Manchester City scheduled for the 9th at Seoul World Cup Stadium as part of the Coupang Play Series, Lee Kang-in trained alongside Arnau Ortiz as one of the two central strikers. Marca highlighted that "Lee Kang-in has begun to take on a new role in the center."

Until now, Lee Kang-in's position was mostly close to the second line, and recently he has particularly settled on the right wing. At both PSG and the national team, he lined up on the right side, cutting inside from there to orchestrate attacks. Occasionally, he would shift to the midfield or central second line, or even the left wing. Of course, during the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup where South Korea reached the final alongside Oh Se-hoon, Lee was deployed as one of two strikers and delivered strong performances. However, playing as a striker in a front two remains an unfamiliar role at the club level.

However, Diego Simeone, AT Madrid's head coach, is evaluating Lee Kang-in not as a second-line resource like a winger but as a front-line striker and has begun preparations for the new season. Of course, whether Lee Kang-in can demonstrate his competitiveness in actual matches will keep the possibility of a position change open, but the fact that the primary focus is on him playing as an attacking forward is close to a "bold transformation" from Lee's perspective.

Notably, Coach Simeone has previously successfully transformed a winger into a central striker. That player was Antoine Griezmann, the former owner of Lee Kang-in's new number 7 jersey and also a club legend at AT Madrid. Griezmann too played as a winger during his time at Real Sociedad before moving to AT Madrid, where he thrived as a second striker and established himself as a world-class attacker.

Locally, there is also an atmosphere of drawing parallels between Lee Kang-in's current deployment as a central striker and Griezmann's past position change. Marca explained that "just as Coach Simeone previously transformed Griezmann into a second striker, he has now begun to develop Lee Kang-in into a central attacker role to utilize his exceptional talent and outstanding game vision."

The report continued: "Lee Kang-in is expected to be a key player operating near the penalty area. Coach Simeone even stopped training to personally explain the desired movements to Lee Kang-in, which demonstrated the coach's plan to use him in the same position where Griezmann grew into a world-class attacker."

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*This content was translated by AI.