When 'Korean Messi' Lee Seung-woo donned the green jersey of Jeonbuk with the best treatment in the K League, the relegation-threatened club's rebound seemed certain.

With a lack of foreign strikers, Jeonbuk was in need of a solution, and Lee was expected to be the hidden card that would provide the final push.

However, Lee was relegated to a bench role for Jeonbuk. Jeonbuk, which had accumulated 23 points through the 24th round of the K League 1 just before Lee's arrival and was in 10th place, has collected only 14 points in the 10 games it has played in the three months since Lee's arrival. They dropped one spot to 11th place.

Why is 'K League's highest paid player' Lee Seung-woo on the bench?

Jeonbuk's highest-paid player, Lee Seung-woo, has been oddly overused. Since joining Jeonbuk, Lee has played in just eight matches, logging 358 minutes on the field and scoring one goal. His average playing time is just 39 minutes.

He didn't even take the field at all in the first leg of the final round against Daejeon last weekend, a game that was billed as a six-point game. It was a game that Jeonbuk had to win by any means necessary to stay in the competition, 토토사이트 but they lost 2-0 at home to Daejeon.

After the game, coach Kim Doo-hyun explained why he didn't use Lee Seung-woo: “Lee Seung-woo had a slight injury after returning to the national team, so he couldn't digest the training properly. I thought Park Jae-yong would be better at aerial balls, so I put him in.”

However, it was confirmed that Lee Seung-woo's physical condition was not as worrisome as Kim said. Lee, who is highly motivated after being selected to the national team for the first time in more than five years, is said to be in good physical condition and fully fit to play.

After the last Iraq war, Lee said, “I will do better in Jeonbuk and develop further so that I can continue to be in the national team,” but the opportunity to do better is rare.

■Can 'relegation-threatened' Jeonbuk afford to save its ace?

The relegation of Suwon became a reality last season. The fate of Jeonbuk, which may be more shocking than Suwon's relegation, will be decided in the remaining four games. However, none of Jeonbuk's remaining opponents - Jeju, Incheon, Daegu, and Gwangju - are easy. With every game on the line, Kim Doo-hyun's pace is slowing down.

Some have suggested that Kim's tactical style this season has been too detailed and specific, and that Lee Seung-woo's creativity hasn't been able to flow easily for Jeonbuk.

Kim also has the defense that he can't suddenly change the team's tactics for Lee Seung-woo at the end of the season. However, with four games to go, there are growing calls for Kim to put aside his style of soccer and play winning soccer, or practical soccer.

With Lee Seung-woo, the team's top scorer with 11 goals, warming the bench, Jeonbuk's current situation is simply too cold.