The possibility of Nam Tae-hee (32) joining a third team in the Qatar Stars League (1st Division) has been raised by local media. Qatar is expected to finish fifth in the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rankings.

“There is no official announcement yet,” 토토사이트 the daily Al-Sharq reported on Sept. 9 (KST), “but there are many stories that the management of Qatar Stars League Al Ghafarah has already signed a contract with Alduhail’s Nam Tae-hee.”

Al-Sharq is one of the top three newspapers in Qatar. Nam had six goals, four assists, and 0.59 attacking points per 90 minutes in 18 games in the 2022-23 season, helping Alduhail win their eighth Stars League title since their inception.

It is also noteworthy that he was involved in goals from three different positions: attacking midfield, left wing, and right wing. Qatari news outlet ‘Al Arab’ also reported that, “A number of Star League clubs are interested in Nam Tae-hee, but Al Gharafa are the frontrunners in the race to sign him.”

Al Gharafa are the second-most decorated Stars League team, having won seven titles. However, they have been without a championship for 13 seasons, ending in 2010.

Nam Tae-hee was part of the team that won the Qatar First Division title from 2012-2014-2015-2017-2018-2023. Al Duhail have only won the Stars League without Nam in 2011 and 2020.

The 2016-17 Nam was the first, and still the last, player from an Asian country other than Qatar to win the official MVP award in Stars League history.

In 2020-21, Nam showed that he can play outside of Al Duhail by helping Al Sadd regain the Qatar Stars League title after a two-year absence.

Including cup competitions, Nam averaged 0.67 attacking points per 90 minutes of Qatari professional soccer, compared to 0.71 outside of Al Duhail. That’s what Al Gharafa, thirsty for a Stars League title, want. The team is no stranger to Koreans, with Hankyung in 2016-2017 and Koo Ja-Cheol in 2019-2021.

Nam Tae-hee has also shown his international competitiveness with back-to-back AFC Champions League All-Star selections in 2018-2019. It was with him that Al Duhail reached the round of 16 for five consecutive seasons from 2015-2019 and the semifinals in 2022.