Celtic look set to confirm the capture of Korean midfielder, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, any day now. With reports claiming that a deal is done between Busan and Celtic, all we are waiting for, for now, is the official confirmation from the club.
When the transfer speculation surrounding the 22-year-old defensive midfielder broke last week, the Celtic fans were all scrambling for their phones to find out every bit of information about the relatively unknown Korean.
But that was not the case for Hyeok-kyu. In fact, not only did he know a bit about the club, he was an avid follower of Celtic as he kept tabs on former midfielder, Ki Sung-yueng.
Speaking of the upcoming move, Hyeok-kyu said [The Herald], “This is a dream come true for me.
“I used to watch Ki Sung-yueng as a kid when he was at Celtic. He was an amazing player. As a child, I looked up to him and admired him.
“So it’s a great feeling to go there too.
“But I feel sorry for my club Busan IPark because I would have liked to have got a win for them before I moved.
“My last match for them didn’t go well and I’m sorry that I couldn’t show my fans a good performance to say goodbye.
“I know it won’t be easy in Europe and I have heard it isn’t simple living abroad either.
“But I am determined I will be a better player.
“I think I have grown as a defensive midfielder and I think Celtic must have liked what they saw when they watched me because I have done not too badly in that position.”
Ki certainly was a brilliant player for Celtic. During his short two-year spell in Glasgow, Ki made 87 appearances for Celtic. During that time, he won a league title and a Scottish Cup.
The Korean midfielder left Celtic to join Swansea in 2012 for £6m which was a record fee for the Welsh side at that time. [BBC]
If Hyeok-kyu can be anywhere close to the player that Ki was during his time at Celtic, there is no doubt we will have a very special player on our hands.
In other news, Efe Ambrose trials with SPFL side as former Celtic defender searches for new club
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