The 25-year-old midfielder would like to be selected as one of three permitted over-age players for the under-23 event, which begins on August 6, two days prior to the opening ceremony in Beijing, despite the Premier League season beginning on August 16.

Earlier this week, South Korea's Olympic team coach Park Sung-hwa revealed Kim is not likely to play in the Games despite Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung being ruled out through injury.

However, Kim, who scored a hat-trick in last week's World Cup qualifier in Turkmenistan, does not believe Albion would block his request.

If Kim is selected then Albion will be powerless to stop him from choosing country over club under current international rules, which also apply to the Olympics.

"I want to play at the Olympics," Kim said.

"I enjoyed a great experience at the Athens games and personally, it is a great opportunity.

"There would have to be discussions about Beijing with my club.

"Nothing specific has been mentioned yet and while I haven't talked to the club about it either, I don't feel that they would refuse."