Latvian national team forward Vladislavs Gutkovskis has announced that he will leave South Korean top-flight club Daejeon Hana Citizen, bringing an end to nearly three seasons with the K League side.
The 30-year-old striker revealed the news on Instagram, confirming his exit from the club he joined in the summer of 2023. Gutkovskis arrived in South Korea shortly after winning the Polish championship with Raków Częstochowa, completing a transfer worth close to one million euros.
His time in Korea, however, proved turbulent. After just three matches, Gutkovskis suffered a torn ACL, sidelining him for seven months and delaying his return until the start of the 2024 season. He marked his comeback with a goal in the season opener, but another long-term injury struck in his fourth match of the campaign, keeping him off the pitch for nearly five months.
This season was his most consistent stretch in the K League, featuring in 18 league games and scoring four goals. Most of these appearances came early in the season. Since July, Gutkovskis featured in just two of Daejeon’s final 17 league matches – an early indication that the club no longer planned around the Latvian international. That expectation was confirmed today, with the announcement that he will depart as a free agent.
In total, Gutkovskis made 33 appearances and scored six goals during his spell in Korea.
Before his move to Asia, Gutkovskis began his career in Latvia with Skonto Rīga and Olimps, but his rise to prominence came in Poland. Playing for Bruk-Bet Termalica and later Raków Częstochowa, he enjoyed the most successful period of his career – winning one Ekstraklasa title, two Polish Cups, and two Polish Super Cups with Raków.
