Oh Hyeon-gyu transfers to Celtic on £2.5-million deal: Reports

Oh Hyeon-gyu celebrates after scoring for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in a K League game against FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 4. [NEWS1]

Oh Hyeon-gyu has transferred from K League 1 club Suwon Samsung Bluewings to Scottish side Celtic in a deal valued at £2.5 million ($3-million), according to reports Wednesday.

Transferdotcom reporter Fraser Fletcher reported Wednesday that the pending deal between Celtic and the Bluewings has been finalized with an official announcement expected at 6 p.m. in Korea.

Celtic made an initial offer for Cho in December last year, but were seemingly rebuffed by the Korean club. Oh told reporters at the time that he was in favor of the move, but the Bluewings insisted the club still wanted to keep him for the coming K League season.

That position appears to have changed however, with Celtic reportedly offering a more generous deal and Bluewings manager Lee Byung-keun backing the move. Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou told reporters over the weekend that he expects some new signings are on the way.

Oh scored 14 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions in the 2022 K League season. He was called up to the senior Korean squad for the first time on Nov. 11, playing 18 minutes of a friendly against Iceland, and landing on the reserves list for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

BY JIM BULLEY AND PAIK JI-HWAN [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]