Hee Chan Hwang’s move from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Schalke was completed with just 35 seconds of deadline day remaining.
The transfer appeared to be heading for collapse until the final moments, with Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung reporting it went down to ‘the very last minute’.
Officials in Schalke’s administrative offices were ‘sweating profusely’ as they waited for the deal to be completed.
The reason for that was the deadline day deal involving Hee Chan Hwang and Wolves was on the brink of collapse. While al the contract documents were properly transmitted to the Bundesliga just 35 seconds before the transfer window closed.
Last minute deal
The deal had been in the process for weeks. In fact, the Wolves striker was on Schalke’s shortlist for some time.
“However, he hadn’t been a concrete option for the last two or three weeks,” explained Board Member for Sport Frank Baumann.
That was because Wolves had only originally intended to sell the South Korean. But by Tuesday afternoon other transfer targets had failed to convinced. That led to a last-minute change and return to the Wolves man.
“The unique thing about deadline day is that things suddenly become possible that were out of reach just 24 hours earlier,” Baumann added.
“The concrete possibility of a loan deal on very favourable terms only came up during the course of the day.”
Schalke made their move for the Wolves forward on loan around 5pm. That led to a last-minute scramble to get the deal over the line.
“By around 5 p.m., it was clear that all parties wanted the transfer to happen,” the sports executive explained.
“At first, I thought we had plenty of time. But then technical and organizational difficulties arose. At times, we felt the transfer might actually fall through after all.”
No medical
Despite everything being done digitally, there were still pitfalls to avoid, such as digital signatures. That process took a long time on Tuesday. Schalke only received the green light from the league at 7:59:25pm.
“Naturally, everyone was tense. When the confirmation arrived and it was clear that everything had worked out, there was great joy,” concluded Baumann.
But it did mean Schalke had to cut some corners. Due to a lack of time, Hwang did not undergo a medical examination. That’s particularly concerning after some fitness issues during pre-season with Wolves.
Instead, he’s undergone medical tests on Wednesday. He is unlikely to face Bayern Munich on Saturday as a result. Given the last-minute nature of the deal, that’s hardly surprising.
