Park Seung-soo is trying to make his way at Newcastle United.
Seung-soo arrived at Newcastle United from Suwon Bluewings earlier this summer and has since impressed.
While these are early days for the teenager, Seung-soo has performed well in Newcastle training and looked bright during some of his pre-season appearances under Eddie Howe.
Indeed, the Newcastle United manager was so impressed that he included the forward on the bench for the 0-0 draw away at Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
It remains to be seen if the 18-year-old has a future in the first-team but Seung-soo was in action for the Newcastle United U21s on Friday night.
Park Seung-soo prepares to come on for his debut for Newcastle United against Team K-League in pre-season.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Robbie Stockdale speaks on Park Seung-soo
The U21s were thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea on Friday night.
Seung-soo lined up alongside the likes of Leo Shahar, Alex Murphy, Sean Neave, Travis Hernes and Alfie Harrison.
U21s coach Robbie Stockdale admitted there was a “buzz” amongst the supporters at Whitley Park when he got the ball after a reporter asked about the reaction from the fans.
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Still, he did suggest he felt reasonably sorry for Seung-soo given he is still learning English, making communication difficult.
Stockdale told The Chronicle: “Seung-soo is a really good player. I agree [about there being a buzz].
“I feel a little bit for Seung-soo, it must be difficult for him, his English isn’t great yet and my Korean is not up to scratch either.
“So to get messages to him is not easy, and we have to take that into account.
“A 2-0, we had a great chance with Seung-soo’s header, and those moments you have to take them, at 2-1 it suddenly looks like a different game.
“It’s a steep learning curve for all the players and that’s what U21s football is.”
Park Seung-soo stats for Newcastle U21 vs Chelsea U21
It was a struggle for Seung-soo, although he was hardly alone in that.
He played 73 minutes, had 39 touches and failed to find the mark with both of his shots.
Newcastle United U21 vs Chelsea U21 statistics Park Seung-soo
Minutes played 73
Touches 39
Shots 2
Shots on target 0
Chances created 1
Passing accuracy 83%
Park Seung-soo stats playing for Newcastle United vs Chelsea U21, data via FotMob
Still, the South Korean forward did at least create one big chance.
Clearly, these are still early days and progress is not linear.
The fact that Howe rated him enough to include him the squad for the Villa game says enough. Granted, the Newcastle United manager is hardly blessed with attacking options right now, but it’s hard to imagine Seung-soo being taken to Villa Park just for the sake of it.