What a couple of days it has been for Ji Dong-Won! The South Korea international ended his unsuccessful stint at Premier League side Sunderland yesterday by signing for Bundesliga team FC Augsburg, and it has today been announced that he will join Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season on a free transfer, reports BBC Sport.
Ji signed for Sunderland in 2011 on the back of a very successful Asian Cup, in which he scored four goals in six games, and much was expected of the 20-year-old on Wearside.
Two-and-a-half years later, and many can be forgiven for forgetting he was ever a Premier League player. His only two goals coming in the last minute of games against Chelsea and Manchester City.
In January 2013, Ji signed for FC Augsburg on loan until the end of the season. A largely successful spell saw Ji score five goals in 17 games, helping his team to avoid relegation to Bundesliga 2 and gained him many admirers in Germany.
During the summer of 2013, it was confirmed that Sunderland - then led by Paolo Di Canio - had rejected an offer of £5million from an unnamed German club, which was later heavily rumoured to be Borussia Dortmund.
On January 16th 2014, it was announced that Ji had signed for FC Augsburg on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. Given his stint at the end of last season, it has been widely viewed as a good move for both player and club.
The week then took an unexpected twist, when news broke today that Ji would be signing for beaten Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season on a four-year deal. Whether Ji can step into the sizeable boots of Robert Lewandowski is an entirely different matter.
I hope Ji does well at both clubs, but I am interested to see if he lines up against Dortmund on January 25th when Augsburg travel to the Westfalenstadion in the Bundesliga, or whether the transfer route to Dortmund is a little murkier than it looks, and a gentleman's agreement is in place between the sides.
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