Brendan Rodgers and Celtic fans handed even more good news

It looks like fans should be expecting an official Celtic announcement soon about the signing of South Korean youth international, Yang Hyun-jun, from K-League side Gangwon FC. There was some more good news on Saturday morning for Brendan Rodgers’ side as well, as they continue their preparations for the 2023/24 campaign.

Gangwon FC released a statement earlier, confirming that Yang is on his way to Celtic. On the other hand, Oh Hyeon-gyu had plenty to celebrate today too. In his case on the pitch.

Rodgers’ side were dominant in a pre-season friendly in Portugal on against Portimonense. This was the second game against the Portuguese side this week, with both matches being played behind closed doors. The first contest between the two teams ended a 0-0 draw, but Celtic had a few more international players back in training and available for the latter one.

The additional personnel appears to have made a difference as Celtic got themselves dominant 4-1 victory in the follow-up match. First-half goals came from Reo Hatate, Liel Abada and youngster Ben Summers. After a number of changes for the second period, Oh found the back of the net as well to keep his scoring record going. On the other end of the pitch, Joe Hart saved a penalty amidst question marks over his future.

Rodgers and Celtic fans handed even more good news

Rodgers was clearly pleased with the result and the training camp in Portugal when talking with Celtic TV after the game, as he said:

"“It was excellent. We’ve had a fantastic week so to finish it off with a decent performance and a good result for the guys I’m really pleased.”"

The next step for the Hoops is the trip to Japan for friendlies against Yokohama F. Marinos on July 19 and then Gamba Osaka on July 22. Both matches are set to be played at 7 PM there, which would be 11 AM in the United Kingdom.

This Asian tour has changed somewhat, with the scheduled game against Wolves now being played in Dublin instead of South Korea, and of course, the obvious connection to Japan via Ange Postecoglou now missing. They are still a very relevant pair of matches in terms of preparation and commercial reasons for the club though. Not to mention the chance for the Japanese players to feature in the Hoops in their homeland.

And while Oh won’t get the chance to play in his homeland, he is expected to be very much involved in the matches in Japan. Also, Yang might not be the only South Korean player that Celtic sign this summer, with Kwon Hyeok-kyu from Busan IPark also being heavily linked.