South Korea striker Oh Hyun-kyu (Celtic) could be on the move. Belgian giants KRC Heerenk are pushing for the signing of Oh Hyun-kyu by offering a transfer fee.
“Henk have made a bid of around £4 million (approx. 7 billion won) for Celtic striker Oh Hyun-kyu,” British media outlet Sky Sports reported on Nov. 13 (KST).
South Korean striker Oh Hyun-kyu has been an ace for the prestigious K League club Suwon Samsung and made his European debut last January when he joined Scottish champions Celtic in the winter transfer window. Celtic paid Suwon a transfer fee of £2.5 million (approximately $4.1 billion) and signed Oh to a contract until June 2028.
In his first season in Europe in a Celtic jersey, Oh had a successful debut season, scoring seven goals in 21 appearances, although he was mostly used as a substitute for the second half of the 2022-23 season. He also added three trophies to his career as Celtic won three competitions (Scottish Premiership, Scottish League Cup, and Scottish Cup).
That changed for Oh last summer. Before the start of the new season, his long-awaited manager, Angie Postecoglou, left for Tottenham Hotspur, Son Heung-min’s club in the English Premier League, to be coached by the newly appointed Rodgers.
Rodgers returns to Celtic, a club he managed once before, after being sacked by Leicester City, who were relegated from the Premier League to the second tier last season.
After a strong showing last season, Korean soccer fans were eager to see what Oh would do in his second year at Celtic, but the opposite happened, as Oh fell out of favor with Rodgers and was released this summer.
This season under Rodgers, Oh made 26 appearances, playing 722 minutes and scoring five goals. A whopping 23 of those appearances came as a substitute, and from March onward, he found himself on the bench more often than not.
Celtic signed Norwich City striker Adam Ayda on loan from the Hoops in the January winter transfer window while Oh 메이저사이트 joined the South Korean national team for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar.
Aida joined Celtic on a free transfer, scoring eight goals and providing one assist in 15 league games, and although Oh eventually returned to the club after the Asian Cup, he did not play after the February league game against Kilmarnock. He was also left off the roster after the March match against St. Johnstone.
With Celtic now wanting to buy Aida outright, a move is inevitable for Oh, who wants playing time. Despite winning the league and Scottish Cup, Oh has been labeled as a non-factor, making him one of the Celtic players most likely to leave this summer.
Luckily, before the summer transfer window opened in earnest, a team emerged with a serious interest in signing Oh. Belgian giants KRC Heerenk have outbid Celtic for the player.
“Henk have made a bid worth around £4 million for Celtic striker Oh Hyun-kyu,” Sky Sports explained, “and the two clubs are understood to be in talks over a potential deal structure.”
“South Korea international Oh, who joined Celtic in January 2023 from Suwon Samseong, is reportedly keen on a move to the Hoops in search of regular first-team action.”
Belgian media outlet Het Nieuwsblad also reported on the 12th, “Hoops challenge for Celtic striker Oh Hyun-gyu,” saying, “Having completed the signing of Jan 메이저사이트 Stukers, Hoops want to complete two transfers as soon as possible. Defender Matt Smetz and South Korean striker Oh Hyun-kyu are his priorities.”
The club is a four-time winner of the Belgian State Philharmonic League and four-time winner of the Croquet Cup, the Belgian FA Cup. This season, they finished in sixth place and are looking to bounce back next season, and they’ve been making solid additions, including Oh.
If Oh’s transfer is confirmed, we can expect a Korean derby in the Belgian league. Hong Hyun-seok plays for Gent in Belgium, so we could see a Korean derby between Oh and Hong.
It is also noteworthy that the head coach of Henk is Thorsten Fink, who has a strong connection with Korean players. Fink, who took over the reins of Henk on May 5, is known for coaching and developing Son Heung-min during his time at Hamburg in the German Bundesliga. In addition to Son Heung-min, he also coached Park Joo-ho (FC Basel), Son Heung-min coached Hamburg (Germany), Lee Jin-hyun (Austria), and Kim Seung-kyu (Vissel Kobe).
When Pink took over from Henk ahead of the new season, he was keen to work with the South Korean once again as he pushed for the signing of Oh Hyun-kyu. The fee offered to Celtic by Hengk is more than the fee Celtic paid for Suwon, so it is expected that Celtic will not turn down the offer as they stand to make a profit on the transfer.
Oh, who made his European debut with the Scottish giants, had a decent debut season but lost out in the competition for a starting role in his second year and is close to leaving Celtic. With Belgium’s Feyenoord likely to be his next destination, it will be interesting to see if Oh can redeem himself at a new club.