Bae Jun-ho makes Stoke City debut

On Saturday, Korean midfielder Bae Jun-ho made his Championship debut for Stoke City, appearing in the final 20 minutes of a 2-0 loss to Preston North End.

Bae replaced Mehdi Leris in the 71st minute, with Stoke already trailing 2-0 after Will Keane put Preston up with two goals in 10 minutes, beginning with a penalty in the 51st.

Stoke were unable to get through in Bae’s 20 minutes on the pitch as the young midfielder adjusts to life in the Championship after only a week in England.

Bae signed with Stoke on Thursday from K League 1 club Daejeon Hana Citizen after flying to Britain the previous Sunday for a medical.

Bae, 20, had been linked to the second-division English club for a couple of weeks, with Daejeon and Stoke reported to have agreed terms last week for the deal to go ahead. The Korean club told reporters last week that Bae was flying to Britain, although Stoke did not confirm the move until Thursday.

Bae scored two goals in 17 appearances in the K League this season, having spent the last year transitioning from the youth squad to a regular role in the starting XI.

His performance outside of club football has drawn more attention.

An ambipedal attacking midfielder who leans more toward the Hwang In-beom school of playmaking than the more familiar Son Heung-min attacking approach, Bae was a key part of the Korean squad at the U-20 Asian Cup and U-20 World Cup, both earlier this year. He scored a goal and picked up an assist in a round of 16 game against Ecuador at the World Cup.

Bae was also in action in a more international setting earlier this summer when he made it into the domestic all-star Team K League squad cobbled together to face Atletico Madrid in an exhibition game on July 27.

The K League team went on to beat the visitors in an unexpected upset at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, with Atletico manager Diego Simeone reportedly specifically praising Bae after the game.

Bae is one of two Koreans now active in the Championship, with veteran forward Hwang Ui-jo joining Norwich City on loan on Friday.

If both remain fit it won’t be long before the Championship sees its first Korean derby — Stoke are set to face Norwich on the road at Carrow Road in Norwich, England in their first game back after the international break, on Sept. 16.