The South Korean joined Wolves in January 2022 from Suwon Samsung Bluewings having enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with the K League outfit which saw him score six times during 24 appearances in the Korean top-flight.
After making the move to Europe for the first time in his young career, Jeong headed out on loan to Grasshoppers to cut his teeth away from his home country and continue his development in the Swiss Super League.
Jeong – who played alongside Hee Chan Hwang and scored for the South Korean national team when he earned his single senior cap as the Taegeuk Warriors face Sri Lanka in 2021 – has made 13 senior appearances during his time in Zurich and scored twice in the same game for Grasshoppers’ under-21s on his return from an injury earlier this season.
Having seen Wolves make a ‘significant financial return’ on the 20-year-old following his switch to the MLS, strategic player marketing manager Matt Jackson has praised the work carried out by Grasshopper manager Giorgio Contini and the club’s staff in aiding Jeong’s development.
Jackson said: “Giorgio and his coaching team have done a great job of looking after our loan players and integrating a lot of different nationalities into their team.
“We thank them for the work they have done, especially with Sang-bin, as the significant financial return that we have on this investment is a credit to everyone at Grasshoppers.”
Jeong will now test himself in the United States as he joins a Minnesota side who are currently unbeaten in the 2023 MLS season following a win over FC Dallas and a draw with New York Red Bulls from their opening fixtures.
“With all of our decisions when it comes to players leaving the club, we want to ensure the moves work for all parties involved, but especially the players,” Jackson added, “and we felt this was a really good opportunity for Sang-bin to further his development and get the regular game time that he now needs.
“As a club, we’ve had good experiences with the MLS already this season with the sale of Connor Ronan to Colorado Rapids and Yerson Mosquera being loaned to FC Cincinnati. The MLS is an emerging market; one where players can develop and one which we can benefit from in the future.
“On behalf of everyone at Wolves, we would like to wish Sang-bin all the best for his future and look forward to following his career with interest as he develops into a top player.”
