Park commits to United

Park Ji–sung is putting club before country in a bid to cement his place at Manchester United.

The South Korean has been promised a new contract by Sir Alex Ferguson after impressing since his move to England from PSV Eindhoven.

But after beginning pre–season training late following his World Cup commitments, the last thing he needed was a return to Seoul for an August 12 friendly with Paraguay.

With his country’s place among the final 32 nations in South Africa next year already secure, coach Huh Jung–moo has opted to let Park remain in England for the build–up to United’s opening Premier League game against Birmingham on August 15.

If Park had been required to return home, he would almost certainly have missed the Birmingham encounter and probably the midweek trip to Burnley immediately afterwards given the tiredness that tends to affect players on such long–haul journeys.

Park’s team–mates are currently combating the same problem, having completed their pre–season tour with two matches in Munich last week that were tagged onto the end of a four–match Asian tour, which included a win over FC Seoul.