Oh Hyeon-gyu has been a hit since leaving Celtic, and is reportedly on the radar of several big clubs including Man United, with a £25 million transfer fee being touted for the South Korean’s signature, after several impressive performances for Turkish side Besiktas…
His is a position we’re struggling badly in, it’s particularly galling
It’s not the first time Celtic has allowed a player leave, only for them to go on to prosper elsewhere. And when it’s a player who plays in that a position we’re struggling badly in, it’s particularly galling. Yet it just seems to be the Celtic way.
I always believed that Oh got a something of a raw deal at the club, but I felt when the offer from came in from Genk it was best to let him go due to a multitude of reasons, so I can’t really complain too much as I’d look very much like a hypocrite.
Very much a Martin O’Neill type of player
But what I can say with great certainty, without sounding too hypocritical, is that the South Korean striker is the sort of player we are crying out for at this moment in time. And dare I say it, he’s a very much a Martin O’Neill type of player in the Sutton and Hartson mould, just the way the Celtic manager likes his strikers.
Tall, powerful, a bit of pace and a knack of finding the back of the net, was what Oh possessed in his locker, and although he was a bit raw, you could see he had huge potential all the same.
Unfortunately for the South Korean he was behind the likes of then talisman Kyogo, and Adam Idah in the pecking order, so naturally he wanted to move on in search of regular football, and only a few supporters grumbled when he moved on.
Kyogo chased fools gold in France
Kyogo too would soon move on chasing fools gold in France with a World Cup rainbow further away and now disappeared. Decisions like that will stay with him long after he’s stopped playing. He was a player who was a perfect fit for Celtic and crucially we were a perfect fit for him.
Adam Idah was worth his weight in gold in that loan spell that won us the double
Adam Idah was another and he hit the ground running when Brendan Rodgers brought him up the road from Norwich in the January 2024 transfer window. His goals were crucial in Celtic winning the tightest title race in years and he also scored a last minute winner against the Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final. So he justified his minutes.
Ironically both of those players are currently struggling to make an impression in the second tier of English football, whilst their former teammate, third in the pecking order at Celtic, impresses in the Turkish Super Lig and is now being linked with a summer move to Manchester United.
Big Oh would be a definite hit under Martin O’Neill
What is clear is that Oh’s transfer value is now beyond Celtic’s reach. Yet what we would give for an Oh type figure spearheading our forward line at this moment in time. Big Oh would be a definite hit under Martin O’Neill, that’s a certainty.
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