And then there were three: Yang and Kwon sign with Celtic

Yang Hyun-jun, left, and Kwon Hyeok-kyu pose with their new Celtic shirts after signing with the club on Monday in official photos shared on social media. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Scottish Premiership club Celtic officially announced the signing of Korean midfielders Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyeok-kyu on Monday, both on five-year deals.

Yang, 21, arrives in Glasgow from K League 1 side Gangwon FC after a month-long battle to get the club to green light the move. Kwon, 22, is making an even bigger jump from K League 2 side Busan IPark straight to the Scottish treble winners.

The pair flew to Glasgow at the end of last week.

Celtic first announced the signing of Yang on Monday.

“We’re delighted to bring Yang to the club and I’m sure he’s going to be another great addition to the squad,” Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said in a statement released by the club. “He’s a player that we’ve looked at closely and who we think will further enhance our attacking options which, of course, already include his fellow countryman Oh [Hyeon-gyu].

“He’s an exciting player who was the Young Player of the Year in South Korea last season, which is an indication of his quality, and I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to having a big impact at the club.”

Yang and Kwon join countryman Oh, who signed with Celtic from the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in January this year. Oh got off to a fast start in Scotland, scoring seven goals in 21 appearances across all competitions last season.

“I’m very pleased to come to Celtic and I’m looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to begin training with them,” Yang, who picked up eight goals and managed four assists in the K League last season, said in a statement released by the club. “This is a move that I wanted to make and so it is great to be here in Scotland now as a Celtic player.

“I have spoken to Oh who has already told me great things about the club and its supporters, so I can’t wait to meet them and play in front of them.”
Kwon’s addition to the club was announced a few hours later.

“We’re also very pleased to bring Kwon to the club, on the same day that we’ve also announced the signing of Yang,” Rodgers said in a statement. “Again, he is a player that the club has been aware of for some time, so it’s great that we’ve completed the deal and I know that the player is delighted with the move.

“We’re looking forward to both players joining up with the squad and playing their part in what we hope will be another successful campaign.”

Kwon, who tends to take a more defensive role than either Yang or Oh, is looking forward to playing alongside his Korean teammates.

“This is a great move for me, to be joining the Scottish champions, and I am looking forward to working with the manager and the players,” Kwon said in a statement. “I know that Celtic is already very well-known back home, and I am sure the support will continue to increase now there are three South Korean players, and it will be good to play alongside them.”

Assuming all three of them make it into the final Celtic squad, Oh, Yang and Kwon won’t be the first Korean combination to play for the Scottish club. Ki Sung-yeung and Cha Du-ri also played together for Celtic in the early 2010s, with the pair also winning the Scottish title together with the club in the 2011-12 season.

Yang and Kwon may get the chance to join their new teammates in the next few days, with the club having wrapped up a Japan tour on Sunday and returned to Europe ahead of a preseason friendly against Wolverhampton Wanderers — home of Korean midfielder Hwang Hee-chan — in Dublin on Saturday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]