One more day in the January transfer window passed, and once again, there was no news of new signings for Celtic. The fans are starting to get frustrated with the lack of activity, urgency and ambition, that is for sure. The only bright spot this month has been the decision to bring back Martin O'Neill, after even the board had to admit that they had made a mistake appointing Wilfried Nancy as manager.
O'Neill has said time and again that new signings need to be made this winter, even though he has been winning games since returning, even with this weak squad. But if there is to be any hope of delivering silverware, quality additions need to be made, especially with the Rangers continuing to show ambition under their new ownership.
Keeping the right players is going to be equally important for Celtic. And it looks like one player, who was on the verge of leaving the club not too long ago, is now set to stay on at Parkhead.
That player is none other than Yang Hyun-jun. The South Korean winger had almost left in the summer, before Celtic pulled the plug at the last minute after failing to bring in a replacement for him. And while he was being linked with a move away this month as well, that now seems to be off the table with O'Neill arriving as interim boss.
Martin O'Neill set to block Celtic exit that was very close
As reported by Football Insider, O’Neill has no plans to allow Yang to leave Celtic this month. Pete O'Rourke said:
"Obviously he came very close to leaving in the summer when Birmingham thought they were going to sign him, but Celtic pulled the plug late on on deadline day because they didn’t bring in a signing of their own.
“Right now, Yang is probably one of the first names on that Celtic team sheet. He’s done quite well under Martin O’Neill, scoring in the win against Dundee United last weekend.
“He is playing in his preferred position of right-wing, rather than right wing-back, which was where he was being utilised by Wilfried Nancy.
“I don’t think Celtic can afford to let him leave. The squad is quite weak at the minute, and short of options."
Sticking with Yang would be the right step for Celtic at this point in time, that is for sure. He is playing well and starting to find his feet at Parkhead, finally. They should not let him leave right now.
On the other hand, it is believed that Celtic are looking to strengthen their options on the wings further. The summer additions of Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti have failed to produce the desired results. The former has never looked up to the mark, while the latter made a bright start but has faded away since then. Let's see if O'Neill can bring the best out of either.
Celtic have been linked with a few wingers lately, but the focus seems to be on signing a striker or two. Until that need is fulfilled, do not expect the club to make a push to strengthen on the flanks.