SEOUL, 26 June — Italian side Perugia have performed a stunning U-turn and decided to sign World Cup hero Ahn Jung-Hwan, one week after terminating his deal for scoring the winning goal for South Korea against Italy.

But it is not yet certain that Ahn will want to go back to Italy after Perugia President Luciano Gaucci bitterly condemned him for his role in South Korea’s stunning second round win.

Gaucci’s remarks led to calls by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a boycott of Perugia. There were also demands for an inquiry of Perugia’s action by the European Commission.

Perugia made a surprise approach to South Korean side Busan I.cons yesterday saying they wanted to sign the pin-up player of South Korean soccer, Busan I.cons club manager Kwak Dong-won told AFP.

“This morning we received a fax from Perugia in which they said they will pay $1.6 million and exercise their option to transfer Ahn Jung-hwan to Perugia,” Kwak said.

Under a loan deal sign last August, Ahn was to stay with Perugia for one season. The contract runs out on June 30 and Perugia can then sign him permanently or terminate the deal, Kwak said.

He added that Ahn had not yet been told of Perugia’s U-turn as he was preparing for South Korea’s semifinal against Germany. “This is not yet the right moment to raise the issue,” said Kwak. “If he does not want to go I don’t know what will happen.”

Perugia make offer for

Japan’s Inamoto

Japan midfielder Junichi Inamoto is considering a move to Italy after receiving a formal offer from Serie A club Perugia, his agent said yesterday.

Inamoto, who has been told he is surplus to requirements by English champions Arsenal, has also attracted interest from Premier League club Fulham, Dutch side Feyenoord and Atalanta of Italy.

But Perugia, who signed Japan playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata after the 1998 World Cup, are the first club to make a formal offer. Nakata went on to join AS Roma before moving to Parma for $26 million last summer.

“We will make a decision as far as narrowing down possible clubs before the end of the month,” Nobuaki Tanabe said. Inamoto, who scored two goals as co-hosts Japan reached the second round of the World Cup, could make a temporary return to Gamba Osaka later this month after leaving the J-League club to join Arsenal for $5.85 million last July.