Scottish league champion Celtic is reportedly interested in signing Gangwon FC’s K League 1 star Yang Hyun-jun, raising interest in the possibility of another European star.
According to a report on Friday, Celtic recently sent an official proposal to Gangwon to sign Yang Hyun-jun.
Yang Hyun-joon is one of the best Cinderellas the K League and Gangwon have produced. He made his professional debut in a Gangwon jersey in 2021, bouncing between the A and B teams before catching the eye of head coach Choi Yong-soo last year and getting regular opportunities.
With eight goals and four assists in 36 appearances last year, he quickly became Gangwon’s ace, winning the K League Young Player Award and earning a call-up to the national team.
In particular, he was already noticed for his confident dribbling breakthroughs in a domestic trial against EPL powerhouse Tottenham in July last year. At the time, he impressed with his fearless play against big-name players, which eventually put him on Celtic’s radar.
However, after Celtic’s offer was made, the player and the club were reportedly at odds. Yang is desperate to get back to Europe, but the club isn’t willing to let him go.
The biggest problem is the situation of Gangwon, who are currently in the relegation zone.
After 18 rounds of play this season, Gangwon is in 11th place with 12 points. The team is in a serious slump with two draws and six losses in their last eight games. The team parted ways with coach Choi Yong-soo in an attempt to turn things around and brought in Yoon Jeong-hwan as a savior, but if Yang Hyun-joon leaves the team this summer, it will be a huge blow. In response, Gangwon have reportedly made a proposal to Celtic that they can let Yang Hyun-joon go at the end of this season and in the upcoming winter. 메이저놀이터
However, a winter move would be disadvantageous for Yang in many ways. First, there is no guarantee that Celtic’s interest will be maintained until then. Even if Celtic want to make a move this summer, they don’t know how the team will change in the winter.
It’s also better to make a summer move than a winter move to allow for adaptability. It’s easier to get used to a new team when you’ve been with them in pre-season, improving your fitness and conditioning and getting noticed by the manager. This is why Cho Kyu-sung (Jeonbuk) took the advice of Park Ji-sung and decided to target the summer transfer market instead of last winter.
In addition, European clubs are looking for immediate impact players in the winter transfer window. To be fair, it’s unlikely that Celtic would see Yang Hyun-joon, who has yet to establish himself in the K League or A team, as an immediate starter.
It’s all about investing in a player’s future value, and if Gangwon prevent Yang from joining Celtic this summer, there’s no telling when they’ll get another chance.
Of course, going out in the winter is not without its drawbacks. Some players have been successful in Europe through the winter transfer window, such as international striker Oh Hyun-kyu (Celtic). Coincidentally, Celtic, who are also interested in Yang Hyun-joon, had fun signing Oh in the winter.
It will be interesting to see what Gangwon, who want to keep him, and Celtic, who want to sign him, decide to do.