Having featured for only a handful of minutes against Benfica last week, Park Ju-Young was quick to make up for lost time in AS Monaco’s preseason by scoring the only and winning goal against Olympiakos Volos F.C. of Greece. It took only six minutes for the fleet-footed number 10 to find the back of the net as he was quickest to pounce on a save by goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović, beating a sliding tackle in the process. Later in the first half, Park nearly netted a second on a corner, his header beaten away acrobatically by Jakupović and almost put comically into the net by an Olympiakos defender if not for the crossbar. Shortly after the start the second half, Park was substituted for Serge Gakpé.
Park’s goal comes at the zenith of transfer speculation surrounding a possible move to English Premier League (EPL) giants Liverpool. Several British newspapers have recently reported manager Roy Hodgson’s approach in trying to sign the Monaco hitman; this comes after several weeks of post-World Cup speculation in different media outlets regarding a possible transfer to other EPL clubs including Aston Villa, Fulham and Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton. This is not the first time Hodgson is speculated to have had interest in Park, reportedly keeping tabs on the player during the 2009 season with Fulham. A decision is supposedly to be made in the coming week regarding a possible transfer.
