Yang predicts Celtic Champions League fever in Korea as fans set the alarm to tune in to trio

Yang Hyun-jun has more reasons than most to hope South Korea appears on the medal podium for football at next summer’s Olympics.

The new Celtic recruit revealed a gold, silver or bronze at Paris 2024 comes with an exemption pass from military service which is normally an 18-month stint of being confined to barracks. It’s just one of the 21-year-old’s targets after arriving at the Hoops on a five-year-deal after catching the eye as the K League young player of the year last season.

Avoiding the draft is just one of Yang’s immediate aims but he’s also planning on getting to grips with Scottish football’s physical demands and helping the fans get over the summer departure of previous Parkhead wing king Jota. He said: “At the Olympics we need to earn a bronze medal at the minimum. There are a lot of good players born in 2001, so I can aim for this. I also need to work on my physicality and my conditioning training.

“I know the level of football in Europe is very high so I will start that as soon as I can. My first step is to adapt to the football here and play as many minutes as I can, let’s see how it goes. When I was shown around the stadium it was very fascinating and I was very impressed. I was so happy looking at it and it felt like my dream was coming true. I always like stadia where it’s full. I’m sure that the fans here at Celtic will inspire me and support me in my bid to be an offensive player and help Celtic attack. I have watched a lot of Celtic matches and I know it is an attacking team. I am that kind of player but at the same time, I always try to get involved in defensive play as well.”

The winger will also link-up with countryman Hyeongyu Oh at Celtic who’s become a friend and a source of inspiration not just for himself, but for fans in his homeland who’ve formed a bond by getting up at the crack of dawn to watch their Champions League exertions. Fellow South Korean under-23 player Kwon has also been added to Brendan Rodgers in recent days and Yang admits Oh has been a trailblazer in promoting the Hoops brand in his homeland.

He said: “Oh was already famous because he is a national team player. With Kwon and I moving to Celtic, I think this will definitely have a good impact on Celtic fans in Korea because they all now know that Celtic is a team that won a treble last season. Almost everybody wakes up to watch the Champions League at four in the morning.

“Oh and I have been good friends for a while. After the move to Celtic was agreed he gave me some good advice. The main thing was that I have to become more independent and show a good mentality as a player. I met him for the first time before the World Cup. I’m quite a shy person but Oh was very friendly and he took care of me, making some jokes. We went to cafes and restaurants together. I watched a few of his matches for Celtic and in one of the games he scored and made his signature pose. That was really inspiring to me and motivated me.”

Yang’s wing trickery with Gangwon brought him to the attention of European clubs and he has spoken of his ambition of eventually playing in the English Premier League. But his immediate goal is to try and hit the ground running at Celtic as he spoke of what Hoops fans can expect from him this season.

He said: “I’m excited to meet the new manager and team-mates and also to train with them. I’m also looking forward to seeing and hearing the fans. Celtic are now in the pre-season, whereas I am in the middle of the season. I think that’s why I am more prepared. I’m very excited. I have been looking forward to this day for so long. It feels like a dream to me.