Celtic are set to complete two more signings from South Korea, according to a report.
Korean daily newspaper The Chosun Ilbo report that deals for Hyun-jun Yang and Kwon Hyeok-kyu have been completed.
They include some quotes from an “official in the transfer market” who says: “Yang Hyun-jun’s transfer to Celtic has been confirmed. After long negotiations, the two clubs reached an agreement.”
“Celtic also made an offer to Busan for Kwon Hyuk-kyu. They offered a transfer fee of €1m (approx £850,000), an increase from last winter’s offer. We understand that Busan are looking positively at moving to Europe. There is a high probability that the transfer will be completed.”
In an earlier part of the report, Chosun declare that both players “will join Celtic”. Given the reputation of the outlet in Korea, and Celtic’s recent transfer business, it does seem like a matter of when and not if they will be announced.
Yang is the one you’re likely to have heard of in recent weeks. He’s a 21 year-old right-winger who plays for Gangwon in the K League 1.
He seems to have his heart set on a move to Glasgow, and even made a wage pledge at one stage when negotiations were deadlocked.
His compatriot Kwon is a less familiar name, although we did cover him six months ago. He plays for Busan IPark — a team performing well in the second-tier of Korean football.
Kwon is a tall defensive-midfielder who is 22-years old. The Chosun report says that we offered a “fairly large” transfer fee for him last December, so it seems pretty clear that our interest has been medium to long term.
If the pair do complete their moves to Glasgow in the coming weeks they will take Celtic’s Asian influence up to eight.
We currently have five Japanese players involved in first-team matters — Kyogo Furuhashi, Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.
Hyeongyu Oh is the sole South Korean at present. Marco Tilio could also be classed as Asian in terms of where his country Australia play their international football.
The announcements of Tilio and Odin Thiago Holm both seemed to come a little out of the blue, even though fans were aware of both players.
So it seems like sticking your notifications on for Celtic posts may be a good idea.
In other news, Celtic fans will have to wait to see Marco Tilio in action
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