This image captured from the Instagram account of Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Jan. 7, 2022, shows the newborn son of a Dutch defender Dave Bulthuis, on verge of signing a deal with Suwon. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — To announce their acquisition of a highly-regarded Dutch defender Dave Bulthuis, Suwon Samsung Bluewings got creative on Friday.
The K League 1 club uploaded a picture of Bulthuis’ newborn son on its Instagram page around noon Friday. The photo was reposted from Bulthuis’ Instagram account, and Suwon wrote congratulatory messages in Dutch, Korean and English.
After three seasons with another K League 1 side, Ulsan Hyundai FC, Bulthuis had been linked to Suwon since last month.
Suwon, for their part, never denied their reported interest in the 31-year-old center back, and the social media post on Friday essentially confirmed the move.
“Bulthuis is basically a member of our club now, and we wanted to congratulate him on the birth of his son,” a Suwon official said. “At the same time, we wanted to put a smile on the faces of our fans who had been waiting for the official news (of the signing).”
In this file photo from May 12, 2021, Dave Bulthuis of Ulsan Hyundai FC (C) celebrates his goal against Gangwon FC during a K League 1 match at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers east of Seoul. (Yonhap)
When K League clubs announce new arrivals, they typically release photos of those players in their new kits.
However, Bulthuis has been staying in his native Netherlands for the birth of his child and he has to quarantine upon arriving back in South Korea.
He hasn’t put the pen on his contract, and the “Bulthuis in Suwon kits” photos will have to wait until the end of January, at the earliest.
Bulthuis has been among the K League’s top center backs since his arrival here in 2019. In 2020, he helped Ulsan to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League title.
He was selected as one of four defenders on the annual K League 1 Best XI squad for 2021.
(Yonhap)
