Pat Bonner has stated that he still can’t see what Hyeongyu Oh is bringing to the table and thinks he is yet to prove his worth to the Celtic dressing room.
When the South Korean star joined in January, he joined a Celtic side pushing for the Treble and he had to play a supporting role for the devastating Kyogo Furuhashi.
Plus, he was filling the boots of Giorgos Giakoumakis, who if it was up to Celtic themselves, probably wouldn’t have sold him if it wasn’t for his need of regular starts.
It’s closing in on a year since Hyeongyu Oh joined the club for £2.5 million and Pat Bonner admitted ‘I just don’t see it’, even if he is a ‘powerful’ figure up top, as he told BBC Sportsound (26/12/23 at 2:50 pm).
From the 22-year-old’s 43 matches in all competitions for the Bhoys, he has 12 goals and he is yet to register an assist.
Look, it needs to be taken into account that the majority of those aren’t starts, so you aren’t going to expect him to be doing backflips.
But Pat Bonner just wants more from the player and suggested starting him alongside Kyogo Furuhashi.
Hyeongyu Oh at Celtic
“I think the big issue with him is that he wasn’t getting games,” said Bonner.
“Anybody coming from a different culture and coming in. You almost have to show the dressing room, not the fans, but the players within the dressing room that he has got something real to offer because you are tested all the time.
“A new player coming in, especially to the players who have been around for a while. So, his excuse would have been ‘I wasn’t getting games’. But now he has had a run of games. I just don’t see it.
“He is big, powerful and he will run. He will do all that part of it. But it’s about the movement, the control and bringing players into the game. He will come short when the ball is out wide. But I would like to see him operating in between the posts. I would also like to see him get a run of maybe playing two up front. Could Oh do that alongside Kyogo?”
Hyeongyu Oh and Kyogo Furuhashi
Ange Postecoglou didn’t start Kyogo or Giakoumakis together, nor was he tempted when Oh walked through the doors.
And even though Brendan Rodgers has stated that he would be open to playing the two up top, the fact is he still hasn’t done it yet.
Let’s be honest, if it was going to happen, then that tactic would have been used by now, especially given the indifferent nature of the team’s performances recently.
That was the time to do it, but Rodgers opted against it, so you can’t see it happening now other than a fresh attacking talent coming in during the January transfer window.
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