The latest teen sensation to move from K League to English football is Daejeon Hana Citizen winger Yoon Do-young, joining Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Athletic is reporting that the Seagulls have met an undisclosed buyout fee in Yoon Do-young’s contract and he will move to the club next season.
Yoon is Daejeon’s second export to England in 18 months having also sold Bae Jun-ho to Stoke City in the summer of 2023, but the 18-year-old is hot on the heels of Yang Min-hyeok who departed for Tottenham Hotspur in December 2024.
Who is Yoon Do-young, and why have Brighton moved to sign him?
A left-footed, inverted right winger, Yoon Do-young, born 2006, made his debut for K League 1 side Daejeon Hana Citizen in May 2024. He’s a player that Daejeon fans knew all about even before he broke into the first team for what was the club’s second season back in K League 1 – such was the level of anticipation surrounding the academy’s latest young starlet.
Originally from Yongin in Gyeonggi-do, the province that surrounds the capital, Yoon has been with Daejeon since the U15s, and made an impression in the 2022 and 2023 K League U18 Championships, scoring in both editions.
In 2024, aged just 17, Yoon joined the first team for its pre-season training camp in Vietnam and featured in friendly matches, but wouldn’t make a first-team appearance until May in the 4-1 defeat to champions Ulsan HD.
He did, however, feature for the club’s B team in K4 before that, scoring three and assisting three in nine appearances, fast-tracking his ascension to the first-team picture.
K League’s U22 rule, whereby teams must field one player under the age of 22 to be able to make five substitutes, means that players like Yoon are able to gain first-team experience.
He became the team’s go-to U22 option and featured in most matches he was available for, scoring once and assisting three in 19 appearances.
But what those stats don’t show is how Yoon makes things happen. He is an excellent dribbler, has quick feet, great technique, oozes confidence, and has a low centre of gravity which allows him to weave through players and work his way into the box.
One example of this helped his team win a penalty which, at 2-0 down, helped kickstart a comeback and earn a crucial point.
He has an excellent temperament too and even when provoked by certain players who are known for their, ‘housery’, let’s say, he didn’t take the bait. At no stage physically did he look like a 17-year-old playing against season pros. Nor did he look out of place.
He became a key player for Daejeon in the right wing and helped the club avoid relegation. He was integral to the team’s high press, allowing two false nines to receive the ball high up the pitch.
Against Daegu FC, for example, Yoon applies pressure to the defender who is then forced into a poor pass which then leads to his team scoring the winning goal in a crunch relegation six-pointer.
Brighton are getting a real prospect and a future star with Yoon Do-young.
Highlights
Composure to score his first professional goal
Compilation of close control and working his way into the box
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