Oh Hyeon-gyu seems to have made a very favourable impression on new South Korean manager Jurgen Klinsmann.
The striker moved to Celtic at the end of January but the combination of his raw ability alongside the coaching and conditioning from Ange Postecoglou appears to be creating a potent force.
During the late eighties and nineties Klinsmann was one of the top strikers in the business, enjoying success in Germany, France, Italy and England.
Although Oh was with the South Korean squad at the World Cup Finals in Qatar he wasn’t listed with FIFA but with new campaigns underway he seems to be positioning himself into a serious contender for his national side.
Korean publisher Dalian reports:
In particular, immediately after the game against Uruguay, coach Klinsman drew attention by taking only the name of Oh Hyun-kyu and praising him, leaving aside Hwang Eui-jo and Cho Kyu-seong (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) when asked to evaluate the national team’s one-top resources.
Manager Klinsman said, “All three players are very good players. It was fun to watch them train on the playground,” he said. “I think Oh Hyun-kyu will be a good player in particular. He has a hunger for goals. He’ll have to wait and see what he’ll look like over the next few weeks.”
Even though he was judged offside, Oh Hyun-gyu was the only player among the one-top candidates to shake the net. Competitors Hwang Eui-jo and Cho Kyu-seong failed to record a single proper shot in an A-match in March.
Oh has scored three times for Celtic, all after coming on as a substitute with his most important strike coming against Hibs when he put Celtic 2-1 in front after 81 minutes.
Selling Giorgos Giakoumakis in mid-season was a big risk for Postecoglou to take on but the impact of Oh suggests that the former Suwon Bluewings striker could be a real asset next season and alternative striking option to first pick Kyogo Furuhashi.