Bundesliga ace Jae-Sung Lee has opened the door to a potential move to Crystal Palace by admitting that he would relish a move to the Premier League, speaking to Kicker.
You could probably count on one hand the number of German-based midfielders in better form than Mainz’s South Korean schemer. Lee has four goals in his last four games. More than he managed in the previous 16 and more than across the entirety of 2021/22.
And, with Lee’s form expiring in 18 months, the former Holstein Kiel ace could hardly have picked a better time to produce the finest goalscoring form of his Bundesliga career.
Will Crystal Palace renew their interest in Jae-Sung Lee?
“I feel very comfortable in Mainz. Nobody can say what will happen tomorrow. I’m concentrating on the next 14 games here,” Lee says, before indicating that a change of scenery would appeal.
“Everyone has their resolutions. Anything can happen. Maybe I can change (clubs) or extend my contract. I feel very comfortable in the Bundesliga.
“But, of course, the Premier League is also attractive. Especially since my idol – Ji-Sung Park – used to be at Manchester United.”
Lee, like Park, is an energetic, attack-minded midfielder with a penchant for important goals. The 67-cap South Korean scored twice in his most recent outing; Mainz extending the gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a hard-fought victory over FC Augsburg.
According to Kicker, Crystal Palace showed an interest before Lee swapped Holstein Kiel for the MEWA Arena. And the absence of a genuine goalscoring threat from midfield may soon have The Eagles offering Lee the chance to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United cult hero Park.
Jeffrey Schlupp is the only Palace midfielder to have found the net in the Premier League this term. Lee, while lacking the potential or youthful exuberance of Conor Gallagher, could give Patrick Vieira the sort of probing movement and cool finishing from deep Palace have been missing since the England international returned to Chelsea.
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