Striker Yang Hyun-jun (21), who realized his dream of reaching Europe by transferring to Scottish professional soccer club Celtic, said he will continue to strive for greater heights.
Yang departed South Korea on the afternoon of the 19th through Incheon International Airport.
Yang will travel to London via Istanbul and then to Glasgow, where he has Celtic connections.
“I’m very happy and excited,” Yang said to reporters before his departure. “I’m also worried, but I’m very grateful to the Gangwon club officials who helped me go to Europe.”
“It’s a shame that I couldn’t finish the season,” he said, adding, “I think I need to do better at Celtic.”
Yang Hyun-joon signed a contract to join Celtic with Gangwon FC president Kim Byung-ji in a live press conference on the club’s YouTube channel on March 15.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to Kim, the transfer fee is estimated to be more than 2.5 million euros ($3.5 billion).
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Yang, who will finalize the deal after completing a medical in the country, “because I’m going to be able to experience something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid.” “I think I’ll realize it when I get on the plane, go through the medical there, and play some sports.
“My favorite player was Park Ji-sung, who played for Manchester United in the English Professional Soccer Premier League (EPL),” said Yang, who dreamed of Europe after watching Jeonbuk Hyundai Technical Director Park Ji-sung, who played for Manchester United in the EPL.
Born in 2002, Yang played in the fourth division with Gangwon’s B team after graduating from Busan Information High School, but last year he was noticed by former coach Choi Yong-soo and began playing as Gangwon’s main striker.
In July of last year, Yang stood out as a member of Team K League during Tottenham’s visit to England, winning both the K League 1 Young Player of the Year and the Korea Football Association Young Player of the Year awards.
As he pushed for a move to Europe, Yang was at odds with Gangwon over a transfer.
Celtic decided to sign Yang in May and tried to negotiate with Gangwon, but the club, which finished 11th out of 12 in the K League 1 this season and faced relegation, refused to allow the transfer.
The process seemed to deepen their relegation as Yang publicly expressed his disappointment with the club, but as the controversy grew, Gangwon reconsidered the Celtic offer and allowed Yang to move.
Celtic are also known as the club of Oh Hyun-gyu, who joined the club earlier this year after playing for Suwon Samsung. The addition of defensive midfielder Kwon Hyuk-kyu to the squad makes for a trio of Koreans.
“I’m usually in touch with (Oh) Hyun-gyu, so I’ve been in touch with him since the transfer rumors came out,” Yang said. “He told me to come over quickly because he was bored. He told me that he would take care of me,” he laughed.
As for Kwon Hyuk-gyu, he said, “I knew he was going with (Kwon) Hyuk-gyu through an article.”
Kwon, a former player of the K League 2 Busan I-Park Youth, reportedly signed a four-year contract for a transfer fee of 1 million euros (approximately 1.42 billion won).
“He told me to be careful of injuries because the Scottish league is very tough,” said Yang Hyun-joon, who received advice from Oh. “He also told me to never give up. I think I should go with my heart in my mouth.”
Celtic, formerly home to Ki Sung-yueng (Seoul) and Cha Doo-ri (retired), have enjoyed recruiting players from the Japanese J-League in recent years.
This year, they have been actively pursuing Korean players, starting with Oh Hyun-gyu.
Currently, there are six Korean and Japanese players on the Celtic squad: Oh Hyun-gyu and Japanese players Maeda Daizen, Furuhashi Kogyo, Iwata Tomoki, Hatate Leo, and Kobayashi Yuki.
With the addition of Yang Hyun-joon and Kwon Hyuk-kyu, there are a total of eight East Asian players at Celtic.
“I don’t think about the Japanese players,” says Yang, “I just think about survival. We are all competitors, so we have to survive.”
Celtic, the Scottish league champions last season, will compete in the UEFA Champions League in 2023-2024.
“The goal is to play,” says Yang. The Champions League is a dream stage for players, so we will do our best to prepare for it.”
After failing to make the final roster for the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, Yang is aiming to compete at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
If he wins a medal at the Olympics, he will receive military service benefits.
“I don’t think it’s a given that I will go to the Olympics. I think I have to go to Europe and do well to be selected, and I have to play and show what kind of player I am,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kwon Hyuk-kyu, who left the country with Yang, was not available for interviews. 안전카지노사이트