Hyunjun Yang made his debut for South Korea on Thursday night and although he only got a few minutes of action, he already has an admirer in Jurgen Klinsmann.
Yang came on in the 84th minute of the 0-0 draw away to Wales, proudly earning his first cap for his country. Hot on the heels of a big move to Celtic, it’s clear Yang’s career trajectory is on the up.
And Klinsmann reckons his presence in the team is an indicator that South Korea are going through massive changes right now, as he looks to justify a winless streak since taking charge.
The German said [Daily Record, 09/09 print edition page 58]: “We are in the process of a generational change. Yang has been playing well for Celtic and came on here and was good too. It will be very important to see how much he grows and develops both at club and at country level.”
Yang has featured in all five of Celtic’s matches at the start of this season but has only started once.
His impacts off the bench have caught the eye of supporters but it’s key he finds consistency and the ability to win matches from the starting eleven.
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That’ll be the next big task of his career, especially with Luis Palma arriving to provide competition on the wing. It’s not going to be easy to force his way into Brendan Rodgers’ plans.
But the early signs are certainly positive. It’s clear the prospect has believers at both club and national team level. It’s now on the player himself to live up to the promise.
In other news, Joe Ledley impressed as Celtic star ups his game from last season.