Portsmouth and Stoke City are both facing potential big issue at start of 2026 | OneFootball

Portsmouth's Min-hyeok Yang and Stoke City's Jun-ho Bae are both in line to receive call-ups to the under-23 Asian Cup this January

Both Portsmouth's Min-hyeok Yang and Stoke City's Jun-ho Bae are in line to receive call-ups to the under-23 Asian Cup this January for their native South Korea after recently being called up to the under-22 squad this international break.

Portsmouth and Stoke will be aware of the news that their players, Min-hyeok Yang and Jun-ho Bae, have both been called up to South Korea's under-22s squad for this international break, and both are in line for a call-up to the under-23s squad this January.

Yang joined Portsmouth on loan this summer from parent club Spurs, after the 19-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with West London outfit QPR, and has already notched two goals in four league appearances.

Yang is highly rated by Spurs, having become the first player in K-League history to have been awarded the Young Player of the Month five times, as well as becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of K League 1 prior to his move to England.

Bae is entering his third full season as a Stoke player, having been an almost ever-present in the Potters' side since his move from his native South Korea in 2023, scoring five times and grabbing 11 assists in 92 Championship appearances for the club.

Both have become impactful players in their own rights at their respective clubs, and will both be sorely missed should they be absent on international duty this January.

Portsmouth and Stoke City will face a conundrum this January with the absence of Min-hyeok Yang and Jun-ho Bae absences

The losses of Yang and Bae in January will be a harsh blow for both clubs, with Yang being Portsmouth's second-top goalscorer at this stage (2) and Bae having played in every single one of Stoke's nine league matches thus far.

Yang was an unused substitute in four of Pompey's first five league matches, but has come into his own in the final two before this international break, scoring in each and the only goal of the game in the club's victory over Middlesbrough.

With Callum Lang and Josh Murphy having both recently spent time in the treatment room, this has afforded Yang a chance under Mousinho to prove his worth, which he has done with aplomb.

The 19-year-old's emergence has kept Swansea City loanee Florian Bianchini out of the side. Upon Lang and Murphy's return, Yang will almost certainly not give up his place in the side easily. However, his potential international duty in January will leave Mousinho no option but to seek alternatives to his side's starting eleven.

Bae, on the other hand, has proved to be an important player under manager Mark Robins, able to deputise out on the left or through the middle as a ten.

Lewis Baker has proved more than capable of playing in that ten role, with Spurs loanee Jamie Donley also ready to take an opportunity in that role whenever one arises.

Out wide, Sorba Thomas has proved to be a revelation since his move from Huddersfield this summer, grabbing three goals and four assists in the league at this point in the season, whilst Lamine Cisse and Million Manhoef can also play there if required.

Nevertheless, Stoke will feel Bae's loss this January, and although they will have options to cover for his absence, they almost certainly would prefer to keep him.

Both Portsmouth and Stoke City will hold top-half ambitions in the EFL Championship this season

Portsmouth and Stoke will each have their own ambitions for this season and what they want to achieve, with the most likely goal for both sides being a top-half finish.

Since being re-branded as the Championship, Pompey have never finished in the top half of the second tier, with their last top-half finish in this division coming in the 2003/04 season, where they won the league under Harry Redknapp.

They played in the Premier League as recently as the 2009/10 season, but have spent much of the last decade or so lingering in the bottom three tiers.

Stoke, meanwhile, have not finished in the top half of the Championship since the 2007/08 season, and since relegation from the Premier League in 2018, have spent the last seven seasons finishing between as high as 14th and as low as 18th.

Both sides, therefore, will be desperate to finish the season in the top half, with both Yang and Bae potentially crucial to either's efforts, and their potential absence this January could prove to be detrimental to those ambitions.