Seol halts transfer talk - from The Korea Times online

[readingbedding]

Disgruntled Reading winger Seol Ki-hyeon has been talking for months how a change of scenery could benefit his Premiership career.
After limping out of the Everton match complaining of back pain, however, the 28-year-old former South Korean international now speaks as if picking up a newfound loyalty for the Royals.

`I am not going anywhere. I will stay committed to the situation I am currently in,'' said Seol in an interview in Monday's edition of vernacular daily Sports Khan.

`The only move I will make is buying a new house in New Malden,'' he said.

Seol, in his second season with Reading, complained about his diminished playing time in the later half of last season and had since pouted for a move to another club that could give him more minutes, a questionable logic considering that the departure of Steve Sidwell upped his pecking order in the midfield.

Kim Dong-gook of GSEN Inc. Seol's agency, had told Korean reporters just last week that transfer talks were underway with two English clubs, one of them thought to be Fulham.

However, with Seol now facing questions about his fitness, the talks seem to have fallen through. Seol, known for his physical style of play, had been sidelined numerous times for a series of back problems with Belgium's Anderlecht and the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Reading is expected to make clear Seol's health status later this week. Seol says he doesn't expect to miss any games.

`The team doctor will check my condition tomorrow (Monday) and I will know better what is causing the pain,'' said Seol, who also added that his surgically-repaired right heel feels fine.

`I am okay. Sometimes it hurts when I push it too hard but my back problems are not chronic types,'' he said.

Reading would certainly need Seol to recover his form quickly with a series of injuries compromising its attacking unit. The Royals haven't made any major acquisitions and injuries to Leroy Lita and Glen Little, as well as the suspension of Dave Kitson, leaves them short in ammunition.

[Victor Meldrew]

Hmm..."known for his physical style of play..."
Not in Reading he isn't.

[Royal Rother]

That made me somewhat too!

[readingbedding]

That made me :shock: somewhat too!

It's a Korean paper, from a Korean perspective.

Simple.

[willz_royal]

oxf*rd

[Chaney]

another Seol thread to throw abuse, why don`t you use one of the other half dozen or so???

[Upper West Ginger]

Seol, known for his physical style of play, had been sidelined numerous times for a series of back problems with Belgium's Anderlecht and the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

I wasn't aware he had a history of back problems. It explains quite a lot about his style of running, and his tentative tackling. You never see him going in for a sliding tackle, for example, he always tries to stay on his feet. Not a criticism, merely an observation ...

[PEARCEY]

I quite like Seol. Hopeless when played as a centre forward but as a winger he has done ok. He has scored a few and created a few as well over the last 12 months. Enigmatic yes. Lugibrious yes. Yet he can cross the ball. He does have skill. He can head the ball and has a decent strike. Work ethic and fitness appear lacking but he does provide some quality out wide and produces more than Oster. I would like him to stay.

[spike25]

After watching him for over a year, I think his fitness is far more lacking than his work ethic. We shouldn't expect him to be like Doyle and Hunt. They're superhuman. It is unbelievable that they can do what they do for 90 minutes, because they do waste a ton of energy. When you have as much energy as they do, I guess it doesn't matter. Seol clearly doesn't have that fitness level, and it seems his "economy of motion" is taken as laziness. As "lazy" as he is, he still has to be taken off after 60-65 minutes.

I think Seol is great. He has a ton of skill and a knack for scoring and setting up goals in difficult circumstances. But his fitness is terrible. That doesn't mean he is lazy or doesn't care. Watch him. When he tries to run around like Hunt, he's winded for the next 5 minutes, trying to recover. We should just let him do what he's good at (which is setting up goals) and if that's not enough, we should get rid of him already.

[TheLawnMowerMan]

Seol made a big impact early season last year - and that was a big factor in us staying up (gave us ealy momentum).
Not done much since.
Decent squad player, but if he wants more he has to produce more.
Nuff said.

[Coppelled Streets]

Hmm..."known for his physical style of play..."
Not in Reading he isn't.

Not at Wolves either.

[Jackson Corner]

I thought he did ok Saturday. He still needs to up his work rate if he wants to start on a regular basis, but as a sub he is a player who is capable of coming on and making an impact late in the game.

[Spotters Badge]

Kim Dong-gook

Fishing Link??

[RFCMod]

Agreed,Saturday Seol looked a different player,chasing back and hassling which has been missing from his game
His crossing is a major plus with some cracking long high balls to the back of the box

Also finding a house in New Malden would be a great plus for him with all his home comforts around him which can only add to a better mental attitude

I really think that Seol will be a big plus for us this season

[79Royal]

At the end f the day, Coppell must see something in him worth keeping at the club, otherwise he'd be on his way by now.

More performances like Saturday's would certainly go a long way to him rediscovering that form he had at the beginning of last season.

[westendgirl]

That made me somewhat too!

It's a Korean paper, from a Korean perspective.

Simple.

I've often wondered if our frustration with him is really with his cultural upbringing rather than him. It is easy to assume that football is football but there are real cultural differences between Korea and here.

If his style is physical just be gratefull we don't have a more representative Korean here