A British media outlet that reported Yang Hyun-joon’s move to Celtic didn’t even bother to check which country’s soccer league the K League is in.
Gangwon FC striker Yang Hyun-joon has been courted by Scottish league side Celtic since May.
Yang, who won the K League 1 Young Player of the Year award in 2022 after scoring eight goals and providing four assists in 31 games in the K League 1 last season, is being pursued by Celtic, who have been on the lookout for players from the Asian market, despite his lackluster performances this season.
However, Gangwon is not willing to let Yang go right away. “Yang Hyun-joon received an offer from Celtic at the end of May,” a Gangwon official told Xportsnews on May 22, “and because the club’s current performance is not good, we offered him a loan after the transfer, but it was rejected. Celtic want a summer move. It is true that the player is important to us and it is difficult to let him go.”
Yang shared his thoughts on this in the Mixed Zone after the game against Incheon on the 2nd, saying, “I haven’t even met with the club officials. I’ve asked them to meet with me, but I haven’t met with them yet, so it’s a pity in that regard,” referring to the fact that the situation is not being resolved through talks.
“If the transfer fee is not enough, I would like to take a cut from my salary…” he trailed off, “but there is no talk of that, so it’s unfortunate. Celtic won’t be waiting forever. It’s frustrating to hear that other clubs are looking,” he said, adding that he was willing to take a pay cut in response to Celtic’s offer, which the club declared a no-sale.
Yang’s comments also caught the attention of foreign media. British media outlet Sky Sports reported the news of Yang’s transfer on March 3 (KST), saying, “I’ll pay the Celtic transfer fee myself.”
“Yang Hyun-joon has made it clear he wants to join Celtic this summer, and if Kangwon won’t let him, he’s even willing to cut his wages to make the move himself,” Sky Sports reported.
The problem, according to Sky Sports, was Yang’s league affiliation. “Yang Hyun-joon is said to be interested in Celtic, but Kangwon is currently struggling at the bottom of the Japanese K League,” Sky Sports said, explaining that the K League is a league in Japan.
토토사이트 This suggests that while reporting on the transfer, they were unaware of which league Yang Hyun-joon was playing in and assumed it was in Japan because of Celtic’s recent attempts to sign Japanese players.
Such confusion over the nationality of Korean players by foreign media has been a common occurrence in the K League until recently.
In March, Spanish outlet Pichajes reported, “Kim Min-jae is a Man United target. The Japanese center back was a key figure in Napoli’s rise to Serie A and is considered the best center back in the world today,” and introduced Kim as a Japanese player.
It’s disappointing to see such country misspellings in overseas media, given the increasing number of South Korean players being linked with moves abroad and the tremendous performances of key national team players such as Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in in recent years.