Lee rejects Pompy

Koen Freriks

28 augustus 2006, 13:36

South Korea World Cup star Lee Chun-soo has turned down an offer of a trial with Portsmouth, according to his agent.

The 25-year-old Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I winger has made no secret of his desire to move to Europe, with England his preferred destination, but it seems the offer from the south-coast club did not meet Lee's demands.

"Portsmouth made an official loan offer for Lee Chun-soo," Han Jae-woon of IFA Sports said. "But the player has said he will not go."

Han said Lee, who spent 18 months in Spain with Real Sociedad and Numancia, had not revealed his reasons for rejecting the offer.

Kim Hyeong-ryeong, vice-president of Ulsan, confirmed the K-League champions had been contacted by Harry Redknapp's club.

"Recently we received a fax from Portsmouth," he said. "The club wanted Lee to go to England for two or three days for a trial before deciding if they would take him on a year's loan."

Lee was the Most Valuable Player in the 2005 K-League and has already made 67 appearances for the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists.