Yang Hyun-jun's Rise to Celtic's Key Player
Yang Hyun-jun walked to the edge of the Celtic support at full-time in Paisley, arms aloft, a player who only a few months ago looked destined for Birmingham City now being serenaded as a match-winner.
For a footballer who almost slipped out of Glasgow in January, his transformation into one of Celtic’s most important pieces has been rapid, and very real.
From near exit to mainstay
At the start of the year, Yang appeared close to trading Celtic Park for the Championship. Birmingham City pushed, the noise grew, and his Celtic spell looked like it might end before it had truly begun.
Then the picture changed. Martin O'Neill returned for a second spell in charge, Yang stayed put, and the winger’s season caught fire. He delivered vital goals as Celtic drove through the spring and over the line for a league and cup double, turning what had been a fringe role into something far more central.
No one was surprised when the 24-year-old signed new terms in the summer. He had earned them. He has started this campaign as he ended the last one: direct, decisive, and increasingly ruthless.
Goals, numbers, and growing influence
His winner at St Mirren on Saturday evening underlined it again. Another tight away game, another intervention from the South Korean. It was his second goal of the season, arriving just days after he opened his account in the midweek victory over Aberdeen.
The numbers back up the impression. Two goals and an assist in seven games this term show a player not just involved, but shaping matches. Last season he hit 10 goals and supplied three assists; this is not a sudden burst, it is a steady climb.
Celtic’s approach under O'Neill leans heavily on width. The wingers are not decoration, they are the engine of the attack. In that system, Yang is no longer a rotation option. On current form, he is the first name pencilled in on the left.
Callum McGregor knows exactly what that means.
“He is a really important part of the team,” the Celtic captain told Sky Sports after the 2-1 win in Paisley. “He's a big player to miss, but obviously we wish him the best.”
A key man, just as he disappears
And now, just as his influence peaks, Celtic must do without him.
Yang will miss the next four games while he represents South Korea at the Asian Games. On this evidence, the timing could hardly be more awkward for the Scottish champions.
South Korea face Qatar and Saudi Arabia in Japan later this month. Yang’s focus will turn to international duty, another stage on which he can underline his rise.
Back home, the schedule does not pause. Celtic travel to St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership, then head across the city for a League Cup quarter-final against Rangers. After that comes a home Europa League tie with Ferencvaros, followed by a league Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.
Four fixtures, each with its own weight. Four matches without a winger who has become central to how Celtic stretch and hurt teams.
Yang Hyun-jun almost left Celtic before this story really started. Now the question is simple: how will they cope while he’s gone?
