Celtic made four signings in the January transfer window, bringing in Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata, Alistair Johnston and Oh Hyeon-gyu. The Canadian international has been successful in establishing himself as the starter at right-back already, with Josip Juranovic leaving for Union Berlin. On the other hand, the other three have gotten a taste of first-team football as well and could get more regular minutes in the future, as they settle in with their new surroundings and teammates further.
The signings of Johnston, Kobayashi and Iwata were over the line before the January transfer window had even opened. But it took some time for the club to conclude their search for a striker and bring in Oh.
For weeks, it had looked like Cho Gue-sung was their number one target to replace the outgoing Giorgos Giakoumakis. The South Korean international had impressed at the World Cup and in the K League, and fit that profile perfectly. But he remained at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, even though there had been rumours that Celtic had submitted a transfer bid in the region of £3 million plus a sell-on clause. The Hoops ended up bringing in Oh from Suwon Samsung Bluewings ultimately.
As reported by the Daily Record, when pressed on if he regrets not moving to Europe in January with Celtic among the interested suitors, Cho told Korean outlet FootballIist:
"“I’m not the kind of person who lives with such thoughts.“I am a person who has been given a good opportunity. If I dare to challenge on the European stage I must run towards that dream. I try to concentrate on each game.”"
£3 million star makes big claim after rejecting Celtic move in January
Thus, it looks like Cho has no regrets about turning down a chance to move to Celtic in January. It remains to be seen how it ultimately turns out for him.
It is believed that he decided to remain in South Korea for the time being because he did not want to go to Europe without a pre-season. That does make a lot of sense.
Oh has come in and made an impression. And as time progresses, he is only expected to get better.