Premier League giants Manchester City and Liverpool are ready to battle it out in the race to sign Hwang Hee-chan.
According to an exclusive report from Mirror, Wolverhampton Wanderers are set to face stiff competition in the pursuit of Hwang Hee-chan. The RB Leipzig attacker currently plays for Wolves on loan, but his rapid rise to prominence has attracted the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.
Wolves are growing desperate to secure Hwang’s services on a permanent deal in order to fend off interest from other clubs. The West Midlands giants are thus expected to exercise their option to buy the player permanently.
Formerly of the Red Bull Salzburg academy, Hwang Hee-chan joined RB Leipzig last year as a direct replacement for Timo Werner. However, the forward struggled to make his mark in the Bundesliga, falling behind the likes of Emil Forsberg, Christopher Nkunku and Dani Olmo in the pecking order.
As a result, Hwang failed to even muster 500 minutes of league action and was subsequently sent on loan to Wolves in the summer. Since his move to England, however, the South Korean international has looked a different player, having already netted four goals in just eight appearances so far.
His blazing performances in the Premier League have now made Wolves desperate to secure his signature permanently. They do have a option to make his loan move permanent, but with Manchester City and Liverpool lurking, it remains to be seen whether they can convince the player to prolong his stay at the Molineux.
Wolves, after all, have not set the world alight despite the change of manager this season. A switch to either Anfield or the Etihad, in that regard, could be a massive upgrade for Hwang.
Liverpool are already scouring the market for a new winger in January in light of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane’s impending absences due to their participation at the Africa Cup of Nations. In addition to Hwang, they have been linked with a move for Ousmane Dembele and Jarrod Bowen.
Manchester City, meanwhile, are bracing themselves for a future without Raheem Sterling. The English international has been tipped to join Barcelona in January after struggling with a lack of game-time under Pep Guardiola.
Hwang’s loan contract at Wolves, though, does not expire until the end of the season, so it won’t be surprising to see the Black Country outfit managing to make the move permanent rather than sanctioning a mid-season move to a bigger role, where the player is bound to struggle with game-time.
