Tae-Seok Lee is a 22-year-old left-back who plays for Pohang Steelers in the K-League. Lee has one cap for the senior South Korean National team.
Lee is on the short side, listed at 5’7 (1.74M) however he is comparatively quite physically strong. In possession Pohang pushes Lee very far forward and central. So he occupies the positions you would expect from a #10 or an inside forward. Presumably, this is to get him on the ball more in the final third but Lee’s on-ball ability is very inconsistent. Lee has a strong first touch and can break lines at times. However, he does not demonstrate this skill consistently enough so his good moments are more than balanced out by misplaced passes and bad giveaways. When he has the ball in his own third Lee does not seem interested in holding possession, he goes long almost every single time. Pohang is a very direct team so this may be partly a tactical thing but even still he does not look particularly calm under pressure. Lee is quite reticent to use his weaker right foot and that limits what he can do in the advanced areas of the field that Pohang seems so determined to get him into. Lee’s strong close control can lead to him beating a player from time to time but on the whole, he does not add a lot of value through dribbling.
Lee is ultra-aggressive on the defensive side of things. Lee is constantly attempting tackles high up the pitch and goes into challenges very hard. However, his success rate on these defensive plays is very low. He gets bypassed by dribblers a lot. Lee’s aggression leads to quite a lot of fouls, often because an opponent got the best of him. Lee is surprisingly good in the air for a relatively short player which makes him good at dealing with crosses to the back post.
Tae Seok Lee has some positive traits but overall I do not see him as being consistent enough to take a step to a higher level. He could probably make a lateral step to a club in Europe but I have a hard time envisioning anything more than that based on my viewings.
Target Scouting 