The deal, which lasts until the end of the season, sees Ryan join the team he grew up supporting and interrupts a three-and-a-half-year spell with Brighton.

An ever-present for Brighton since his arrival in 2017, Ryan fell out of favour after a 3-0 loss to Leicester City in December 2020, paving the way for a move to the 13-time English champions.

Both club competitions will see a record number of clubs compete in 2021, with two additional groups – one each for the East and West Regions – included in this season’s AFC Champions League Group Stage, which has expanded from 32 to 40 clubs.

Over the past three weeks we have seen the goalkeeper and the back four decided with polling for the midfield maestros ongoing, it's time to turn our attention to the forwards and find out who you consider the top trio.

So, here are the nine players in contention for three places at the business end of the field. Review the candidates and then select your favourite for this all-star XI in the poll below.

The winner will be revealed on Sunday with 60 percent of the votes supplied by the direct participation of fans on the-AFC.com and 40 percent by a panel of Asian football experts.

Park, who spent an extensive amount of time playing in Europe for PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers, witnessed first hand how investment in development paved the way for success and the 39-year-old is hoping to make a difference in the K League.

Alaa Abbas and Hwang Ui-jo both found the back of the net, a pair of Iranian shot-stoppers produced clean sheet heroics and Lee Jae-sung beat the champions of Europe, while Ellie Carpenter and Saki Kumagai both starred in France.

Familiarise yourself with our shortlist – based on performances from January 13 to 19 – and don’t forget to cast your vote.

DID YOU KNOW?

The FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 will see 2020 AFC Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai FC and tournament hosts Al Duhail SC competing with the world's best from February 1 to 11.

The draw takes place in Zurich on Tuesday at 16:00 CET (UTC+7).