This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Crystal Palace transfer target Hwang Hee-chan saw his and RB Salzburg’s Champions League campaign come to an end on Tuesday night following a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool, which meant that the Austrian side finished third in their group behind the Reds and Napoli.
The South Korean forward will now be playing Europa League football having at least finished above Genk in Group E, and while he might feel disappointed to have dropped out of Europe’s leading club competition, it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying on his part.
Hee-chan, who Palace are reportedly scouting alongside Arsenal, managed to get all of his three shots on target against Jurgen Klopp’s men, having more efforts which tested Alisson Becker than any of his teammates – in that respect, you could say that the 23-year-old was the biggest goal threat for his side on the night.
RB Salzburg’s No.9 could not add to his nine goals and 14 assists so far this season with a blank against the European champions, although having been so prominent in terms of getting shots off against such a formidable outfit, you can only praise him for his effort and determination to keep banging on the door.
Despite a goalless show, one would assume that Palace would still be impressed by the 32-cap South Korea international’s persistence to try and score a goal, especially seeing as Roy Hodgson’s side are the second-lowest scorers in the Premier League this season with just 14 goals in 16 games.
In addition to his three shots on target, Hee-chan also completed one dribble – you may recall that he already netted against Liverpool at Anfield in the reverse fixture, putting Virgil van Dijk on his backside before finding the top corner.
Despite the South Korean failing to find the back of the net again, the fact that he was statistically his side’s biggest goal threat against a European giant will surely only encourage potential suitors.
In other news, Hodgson would be left with a selection dilemma if the Eagles moved to sign this Serie A attacker…
