Koreans in Europe: Celtic's Korean trio fills bench for second game in a row

Football

Published: 27 Dec. 2023, 14:05 Updated: 27 Dec. 2023, 18:00

Koreans in Europe: Celtic's Korean trio fills bench for second game in a row

Celtic's Yang Hyun-jun warms up before a match against Rangers in Glasgow in September. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

All three of Celtic’s Korean players were geared up on Tuesday for the Glasgow club’s match against Dundee, joining the bench as a complete trio for the second game in a row.

Regular forwards Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun both clocked time on the pitch, subbing in together during the second half, though neither scored nor made any real impact on Celtic’s 3-0 win at Dens Park.

And 22-year-old midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu, who joined Celtic in July from K League 2 team Busan IPark, saw his name on the lineup for the second time ever as Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers kept the roster identical to last week’s after the club’s 2-0 win against Livingston at home, when Kwon made his bench debut.

Celtic, who are currently the league leaders in the Scottish Premiership and sit two points clear at the top, earned a slow but smooth win against No. 7 Dundee in Dundee, Scotland to solidify their recovery after a two-game slump earlier this month.

After a goalless first half, it was Paulo Bernardo who opened the scoring for Celtic in the 52nd minute with Luis Palma getting the assist.

Oh and Yang then headed onto the pitch in the 66th minute, subbing in for starting strikers Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda after neither made any impact on the score. Furuhashi, though, came close a few times, including a surprising miss from the right during the 28th minute on an empty net.

Celtic's Oh Hyeon-gu, left, and Yang Hyun-jun warm up before a Champions League match between Lazio and Celtic in Rome in November. [AP/YONHAP]

Both Oh and Yang were there to see fellow striker sub Mike Johnston make it 2-0 in the 83rd minute almost immediately after coming onto the pitch for Palma in the 79th — and then make it 3-0 with a double during stoppage time.

Oh had his own chance on the goal at 72 minutes but missed the net, shooting it wide to the right.

Oh, the most senior player among the Celtic Korean trio, has also scored the most goals this season, earning his fourth and fifth with a double in Celtic’s victory over Hibernian earlier this month.

Oh, 22, signed with Celtic, then under Tottenham Hotspur's Ange Postecoglou, during the January transfer period after coming up from the K League’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings — before they were relegated to the second division. He’s clocked 675 minutes over 22 appearances and three starts with Celtic this season, his first full season in Europe.

But Yang, 21, has gotten more time on the pitch since joining Celtic in July from K League 1’s Gangwon FC ahead of the 2023-24 Scottish Premiership season. Yang has had 870 minutes of time in the game over 21 appearances and nine starts — scoring his first and only goal in November — although the numbers hardly paint the full picture.

Oh was out for six weeks due to a calf injury at the beginning of the season, which is partly to answer for the gap in playing time, and Celtic manager Rodgers has not shown any particular favoritism to the younger player.

Oh Hyeon-gyu returns from injury for Old Firm derby win

Yang was briefly completely pulled off the lineup after one particularly unimpressive half in November made Rodgers lose his “normally very calm” — though he stopped short of publicly calling Yang out.

Kwon’s Celtic career has been significantly less eventful — in that there have been no events. The 22-year-old is the oldest member of the Korean trio (although he’s older than Oh by just a month) but has recorded zero minutes on the pitch so far, earning a spot on the bench for the first time just last week.

Celtic's Kwon Hyeok-kyu warms up before a match in Glasgow in September. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

And while Kwon has played for Korea’s U-23 national team, he’s yet to receive a call for the senior squad to play alongside his fellow Celtic teammates. Yang earned his first cap with Jurgen Klinsmann’s national team in September, while Oh has several under his belt.

Celtic have one game left in the Scottish Premiership before the new year and will meet No. 2 Rangers on Dec. 30 in what’s set to be a competitive match. It remains to be seen whether Kwon will clock any time before the year’s end, and if Oh and Yang might return to the start.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]