Brendan Rodgers has made it his mission to trim Celtic’s squad and he already looks to be reaping the benefits with one loanee.
Hyeokkyu Kwon has endured a fairly low-key start to his career at Parkhead since arriving from Busan IPark for approximately £1 million last summer.
In the aftermath of moving to Glasgow, many fans will remember the 22-year-old’s comments regarding his career ambitions at the Hoops and beyond, as he told the media: “I will become the best player in Celtic and go to higher places such as the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League.”
Despite of his determination to succeed, the South Korea Under-23 international didn’t make a competitive senior appearance during the first-half of the campaign.
He hasn’t been seen in green and white at all since a friendly bout against Athletic Club in James Forrest’s testimonial, where he was hooked at half-time by Rodgers.
Now on loan at nearby St Mirren, Kwon has been given encouragement by the Irishman to grab the bull by the horns in Paisley.
The Hoops boss stated on his move to the Buddies: “Kwon, it’s a really good move for him in many aspects – he can stay in Glasgow and he’s going to a very, very good coach and coaching team. We expect him to improve playing games.
Stephen Robinson delighted by Celtic loanee Kwon
On Saturday, St Mirren saw off Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup fourth round by a goal to nil courtesy of an Alex Gogic effort, per BBC Sport.
Notably, the tie at the SMISA Stadium also marked Kwon’s debut in Scottish football. Completing the full 90 minutes, Stephen Robinson was delighted with the defensive midfielder and offered him some high-praise post-match.
Robinson stated [The Scotsman]: “Kwon’s not played in months but he’s a good player and just needs game time.
“We are delighted he got the 90. We saw glimpses, he has got a lot of talent, he and Caolan Boyd-Munce dominated the game.”
He later added: “We were looking at about 60 minutes for Kwon but I thought we looked dominant in the game so he wasn’t doing loads of running – he was running the game. We thought it would be beneficial for him to get 90 minutes, psychologically. We are delighted with him.”
Kwon loan move is part of wider Celtic strategy
Shipping players out in need of regular minutes will be a feature of the remaining portion of the transfer window for Celtic.
However, one thing that has become apparent is that Rodgers is keen for some of his fringe men to move to other Scottish clubs to keep a closer eye on their progress.
Adam Montgomery has headed out to Motherwell on a similar basis while B Team youngster MacKenzie Carse is now on the books of Queens Park until the end of 2023/24.
The Daily Record recently put forward that more could be set to depart to different footballing environments across the country as part of a wider strategy.
Arguably, this can only benefit the likes of Kwon, who will learn to become accustomed to the physical nature of Scottish Premiership football without the relentless pressure associated with Celtic.
Kristoffer Ajer, Ryan Christie, and, more recently, Liam Scales have become shining examples of players who have honed their craft elsewhere temporarily before coming to the fore as important first-team men for the Hoops. Hopefully, Kwon can replicate their success and deliver on his initial promises upon arrival.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
