Nottingham Forest's Hwang Ui-jo (first from right) during the warm up before the match with Burnley at the Carabao Cup Second Round held in Nottingham, Britain on Aug. 30 (Reuters)
Having been unable to find his footing with the Premier League side Nottingham Forest, South Korean international Hwang Ui-jo will get a fresh start with the second-tier club Norwich City.
Norwich City announced on their website on Saturday that they have acquired Hwang on loan from Nottingham Forest for the rest of this season.
Hwang first signed with Forest in August 2022 but was immediately loaned to Olympiacos FC in Greece, with both teams owned by the Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis.
Hwang, after a successful earlier stint in France with FC Girondins de Bordeaux, never established himself in Greece. He played the first half of this season with FC Seoul in South Korea and returned to Forest in time for the 2023-2024 season.
Despite getting some action in the preseason, Hwang didn't appear in any of Forest's first three matches of the new campaign. The 31-year-old will now look to revive his career in the second-tier English Football League (EFL) Championship.
"I am very excited. I want to help the team as much as I can. I can't wait to play," Hwang was quoted as saying on Norwich City's website. "I spoke with the coach (David Wagner) and I heard good things from him. They are pressing high a lot, and the forwards link the play. It's about hard-working and togetherness."
Hwang has also been named to the South Korean national team for September friendly matches against Wales and Saudi Arabia. He has been a mainstay for the Taegeuk Warriors for the past five years, a stretch that includes South Korea's trip to the knockout phase at the FIFA World Cup last year.
Wagner said his club needed a new attacker in light of an ankle injury to Josh Sargent, who is expected to be out for a few months.
"We had to be patient, but we are very happy that we can now welcome Hwang to our squad," Wagner said. "We wanted to give our group another option in the attacking areas following the injury to Josh, so it makes us all very happy that we could find this solution. Hwang has great pedigree and experience at the very top level of both club and international football. We are excited by his quality and look forward to seeing him with our group."
Norwich City are in second place in the EFL Championship this season with 10 points after four matches, two points back of Leicester City. (Yonhap)
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