Hyeon-gyu Oh (foto: Official TW/IG/FB account)
Genk have sold their top scorer Hyeon-gyu Oh to Beşiktaş just weeks before facing Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League play-off.
There is good news for Dinamo Zagreb, arriving from Belgium — or Turkey, depending on perspective. Genk, Dinamo’s opponents in the Europa League play-off for a place in the round of 16, have sold their top scorer.
South Korean striker Hyeon-gyu Oh has signed for Beşiktaş, completing a move worth between €14 and €15 million. The fee is almost half of the amount Genk had agreed with VfB Stuttgart last year.
At the time, Oh was close to joining Stuttgart in a deal valued at €28 million, but the Bundesliga side pulled out at the last moment and the transfer collapsed. Despite that setback, the 24-year-old responded with a solid campaign in a difficult season for Genk.
Genk lose goals and experience
In a team struggling domestically but performing more convincingly in Europe, Oh scored 10 goals in all competitions, matching the tally of Belgian attacking midfielder Daan Heymans. Both players found the net three times in the Europa League, with Oh scoring six league goals, one more than Heymans.
Genk’s winter window has also seen the departure of Czech midfielder Patrik Hrošovský, who joined Viktoria Plzeň for around €1 million. Hrošovský had been a regular starter, beginning the first six Europa League matches before leaving in mid-January.
Crucially, Genk have not brought in any significant reinforcements, meaning they will head into the two-leg tie against Dinamo considerably weakened.
The matches are scheduled for 22 and 29 February, with the Croatian champions now facing a rival stripped of key attacking power just weeks before the decisive encounters.