South Korean outlet Joongang claim Celtic have tabled a £1.75million offer to sign Suwon Bluewings attacker Oh Hyeon-gyu ahead of the January window – just a couple of months after saving the Bluewings from relegation.
Celtic have consistently used South Korean and Japanese football as a scouting pool. Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda have starred for Celtic up top, Reo Hatate in midfield. Yuki Kobayashi has just joined from Vissel Kobe.
Now, 21-year-old attacker Hyeon-gyu is Celtic’s next target from that part of the world. It comes after a superb 2022 campaign, in which he was the one shining light in a woeful Bluewings season. He finished as top scorer.
Netting 14 times, he scored the all-important goal to keep Bluewings in the top tier. A 120th-minute extra-time winner in a relegation play-off, having finished 10th of 12 teams. That has caught the eye of Ange Postecoglou.
That, and that he was the 27th member of South Korea’s World Cup squad. He was brought along by Paulo Bento, in case Tottenham’s Son Heung-min could not play due to injury. He trained in Qatar, earning ‘gratitude’ from Son.
Celtic table £1.75million offer to sign Oh Hyeon-gyu
Clearly an impressive attacker and the fact Postecoglou has had success in most of the deals he has secured from South Korea or Japan, why not try again. A low-risk signing with the potential for plenty of future reward.
Hyeon-gyu has shown he can score and create goals in a side that struggle to create chances. In a Celtic side that are free-flowing and playing with confidence, he could bag plenty. It is unclear how the Bluewings will respond.
But, you would expect the player himself to be very interested in the opportunity – even at his age – to go and have a crack at European football. Following in Kyogo, Maeda and Hatate’s shadow. An exciting signing, certainly.
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