With three days to go until the transfer window officially opens Kwon Hyuk-kyu is the latest name being linked with a move to Celtic.
Under Ange Postecoglou Celtic seem to be recruiting all year round with Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston already over the line with just the formalities of their moves to be rubber stamped.
Celtic’s Australian boss has certainly expanded the club’s horizons, no longer are scouting efforts concentrated on the English markets bolstered by the occasional raid into Scandinavia.
South Korea is one of the markets that Postecoglou has spoken about but as the quality is raised in the Celtic squad it becomes harder to find players of the right quality.
Last January the benchmark was raised when Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley moved to Glasgow with Hyuk-kyu also competing for a place in midfield.
Korean site Sports Chosun report:
An official familiar with the K-League transfer market said, “Celtic sent an offer to recruit Kwon Hyuk-kyu to Busan. They are not just willing to recruit, but are active enough to offer a fairly large transfer fee.” If Kwon Hyuk-kyu succeeds in going to Celtic, another young K-League will go directly to Europe after Jeong Sang-bin (grasshopper loan), who transferred to Wolverhampton, England in January 2022.
Kwon Hyuk-gyu is one of the promising players who will lead Korean soccer. It is regarded as a masterpiece created by the Busan youth system. His ability was recognized enough to sign a semi-professional contract for the first time in the K League 2 in 2019, when he was in his third year at Kaesong High School. He started in an away game against Jeonnam Dragons in September 2019, played until his debut, and was well received for his good play. Kwon Hyuk-gyu, who signed an official contract with Busan, which was promoted to the first division in 2000, played 16 league games. In the 11th round against FC Seoul, he even scored his professional debut goal. Although Busan was relegated, Kwon Hyuk-gyu’s play received a lot of attention.
The report added:
In the past, Celtic, which has been linked to Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk) and Song Bum-keun (Shonan Bellmare), is also showing interest in Cho Kyu-seong (Jeonbuk), who has emerged as a star through the World Cup. Prior to this, Kwon Hyuk-gyu is being prioritized. Celtic made an offer to Kwon Hyuk-gyu before the World Cup.
The Postecoglou links will have alerted agents in Asian markets that there is an obvious channel into Europe, one with the realistic prospect of Champions League football.
How serious Celtic’s interest remains to be seen but it seems likely that there will be more than Kobayashi and Johnston arriving at Celtic next month.
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