Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors captain Hong Jeong-ho was delighted to see team-mate Cho Gue-Sung stay put until the summer, speaking to Xport News after talks with Scottish champions Celtic were placed on pause.
In truth, Celtic aren’t exactly missing him at present.
Four more goals during Saturday’s thumping win over Aberdeen took the Hoops’ tally to a remarkable 82 in just 26 Premiership outings this term; an average of 3.1 per game, and 21 more than Old Firm rivals Rangers.
The prospect of Cho Gue-Sung joining Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada, Daizen Maeda and co at Parkhead, then, is enough to keep many north of the border waking up in cold sweats; Cho having won the K-League’s Golden Boot in 2022 before netting twice at the Qatar World Cup.
The South Korea international was in talks over a £2.6 million move to Glasgow last month (Scottish Sun). He opted to delay a move until the summer, however, beleiving that he would benefit further from a full pre-season under Ange Postecoglou’s watchful eye.
Will Celtic renew their interest in Cho Gue-Sung?
“Gue-Sung talked a lot. Since I have experience in Europe, he also asked me about my experience,” says former Augsburg defender Hong. “Gue-Sung makes the decision, but I told him my own thoughts.
“It’s great that he stayed. Since the winter season (training camp), we’ve been training hard and working hard. I think this is a season I’m looking forward to a little more.
“In a way, Gue-Sung has to show more. Looking at the amount Gue-Sung is training, I think he will do well enough.”
It remains to be seen if Celtic renew their interest come the summer. In fellow K-League export Oh-Hyeon Gyu, Postecoglou snapped up another 6ft-something number nine towards the end of the January window. Thereby, potentially closing the door on Cho’s own arrival.
Celtic sign Oh Hyeon-Gyu
“We are delighted to bring Oh to Celtic,” Postecoglou says of the 21-year-old, who scored his first Hoops goal in the 5-1 Scottish Cup thrashing of St Mirren. He is a young, talented striker with great attributes and someone who is ready to take the next stage in his career – a player who is hungry, eager to develop and to achieve success.
“I have watched Oh for some time and he is the striker I really wanted as I think he will be a great fit in our squad.
“Really importantly, I know that he had his heart set on joining us too and that his own perseverance has been crucial in making this deal happen, so his determination to join Celtic has been very clear.
“We are really pleased to welcome him to the Club and look forward to working with him and settling him into our squad.”
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