Professional football recently revealed the 298 players who will be eligible for free agency in 2024. Free agent moves can be game-changers as they don’t incur transfer fees.
But in professional football, it’s not just about the players, it’s also about the length of their contracts. This year, a number of high-profile managers with stellar track records will be on the market. If they don’t get re-signed, we could see a chain reaction of free agents. This is a far cry from last year, when we started the season with no managerial changes.
The field of managerial free agents is a glittering one. Ulsan Hyundai’s Hong Myung-bo, who is leading the race to the top of the standings, FC Seoul’s Ahn Ik-soo and Daejeon Hana Citizen’s Lee Min-sung. All three have the upper hand in negotiations as they can expect to qualify for Final Round A (1-6).온라인카지노
Hong is the most coveted coach by each club. He took the helm of Ulsan in 2021 and has proven why he is a mastermind in the three years he has been guaranteed.
Hong’s appeal is his competitive nature. Before Hong’s arrival, Ulsan were known for their ‘autumn trauma’, failing to cross the title threshold every year. They finished runners-up 10 times, the most in K League 1. That has changed with Hong at the helm. Last year, in his second year in charge, he lifted the K League 1 title for the first time in 17 years, and this year, he has a commanding lead of 16 points over second place. Barring some sort of upset, Ulsan’s second straight loss is a given.
Unsurprisingly, Ulsan is doing its best to hold on to Hong. Rumour has it that they have offered him a long-term contract and guaranteed him the best treatment in the K League. A senior Ulsan official said, “We are definitely considering re-signing Hong. We haven’t had a full-scale negotiation, but we are in communication.”
Ahn has also made a name for himself with Seoul this year with a decent first-half performance (third place). This compares to the previous two years, when the club was worried about relegation, although they were left with a void after the recent departure of national team goalkeeper Hwang Eui-jo, who was out of contract. He has shown leadership in respecting the veteran players and has shed the image of rigidity. If Ahn fails to re-sign with Seoul, he will be coveted by teams at the bottom of the table in need of results.
Having lifted Daejeon from the second tier, Lee has sparked a revolt from the promoted side this year with his ‘running football’. Daejeon are sitting in sixth place, having defied expectations that they would be close to relegation given their objective form.
One of the K League’s general managers even said, “Where is a leader like Lee Min-sung?” while searching for a coach. In this situation, the delay in Lee’s re-signing caused his stock price to soar. Heo Jeong-moo, the chairman of the board of directors who held the key to the re-signing, abruptly resigned last month, making it difficult to predict his future. “The extension option is also up this year,” said a Daejeon official, “so we have to wait and see what happens.”
