Byung-chan Park is a 16-year-old midfielder who plays for Daejeon Hana Citizen and the South Korean U-17 National Team.
Park is a box-to-box midfielder. He is listed at 5’9″ (1.81 m) and has a reasonably strong build for a player his age. Park is an effective box-crasher. He makes good runs into the box, and that leads to shots from dangerous areas. Park is very good at evading markers with his movement. Park is also useful in deeper areas. He has strong vision and a good range of passing. Park is frequently able to pick out players in space in transition moments or change the point of attack in build-ups through switches. He also breaks lines with decent regularity. However, Park is a little bit inconsistent in his execution of these passes. Sometimes he misplays passes or doesn’t get the weight right. This leads to turnovers or significantly slowing down a move because his teammate has to adjust to control the ball. Park is also slightly inconsistent in his first touch, especially when under pressure. All in all, he is not very ball secure. While he adds a lot of value through his passing, there is also the downside that he loses the ball a lot. This is something that could improve with more time and experience. When Park does have the ball under control, he is quite a good carrier. He can move with the ball quickly into space and use his passing to keep a move going. He is quite agile, and that, combined with his slightly above-average height, makes him good at turning against defenders.
Park puts in a lot of defensive effort, but he is not particularly adept at tackling. He commits a lot of fouls while trying to win the ball back. Being slightly above average size and reasonably quick would seem to be the basis for a solid defensive game, so we will see how Park develops in the coming years.
Park is a little bit rough around the edges, but overall, he is an effective ball progressor and a goal threat. He has an October birthday, so he is not getting benefits from the relative age effect, but he was above average in this tournament when it came to the physical side of the game. I could see Park playing for a top club outside the top-5 leagues if he is able to secure himself a military exemption at some point down the road.
Target Scouting 