Bayern Munich youth director praises Wooyeong Jeong
Bayern Munich youth director Jochen Sauer recently heaped praise on 19-year-old South Korean talent Wooyeong Jeong.
It’s been a tough season for Bayern Munich in the injury department. Not only have the club’s veteran players, such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, struggled with injury, but so have many of their younger stars like Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso.
Bayern’s wingers have struggled the most with fitness, often leaving Niko Kovac with only one or two true wide offensive players at his disposal. It’s no surprise the Bavarians brought Alphonso Davies in over the winter break and are actively pursuing Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi!
With both Robben and Ribery playing their last season in Munich and Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry having injury problems of their own, Bayern desperately need to add some depth on the wings. Purchasing new players, however, is not the only way to fix the problem. The Bavarians might turn to their own youth squad to provide some firepower from out wide.
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19-year-old Wooyeong Jeong has been something of a breakout star for the Bayern reserve squad since making the leap there from the U-19 squad, where he only played half a year, at the beginning of the season.
The Korean has arguably been the reserve squad’s best player this campaign, amassing 12 goals and four assists across his 19 appearances so far. Jeong, naturally right-footed, has featured primarily on the right wing, though he is equally capable on the left side and can even play behind the striker.
Speaking recently with FuPa, Jochen Sauer (head of Bayern’s youth development academy) claimed Jeong has “all the necessary qualities to play in the Bundesliga in the future,” adding that the Korean teenager is hoping to permanently jump to the first team as soon as possible.
Sauer added that the pressure of finding a “new Thomas Muller” — the last truly great Bayern academy product bar David Alaba — is tough to deal with, but his team are working on it. He thinks there are a few players who could soon be ready for the first team, citing his goal to have at least three or four youth players making the jump to the first division each season.
Wooyeong Jeong has already made his Bayern debut in both the Bundesliga and Champions League, though he only played a total of 13 minutes between the two matches. He looked particularly promising in his brief appearance against Borrussia Monchengladbach last weekend, however, and made a great argument for more playing time with the first team.
It’s important Bayern return to their emphasis on developing players from their own youth academy. Integrating Jeong permanently into the first team would be a great step from the Bavarians to show their intentions of creating one of the best development academies in Europe.
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Jeong certainly has the talent to one day be a mainstay of the Bayern squad. He just has to continue his development and make the best of the opportunities when they come his way.