Yang Hyun-jun's Crucial Role at Celtic Amid Asian Games Absence

Yang Hyun-jun was almost out the door in January. Now Celtic can hardly do without him.

Back then, a move to Birmingham City looked close. Celtic were drifting, uncertainty hung over the club, and the South Korean winger seemed destined to restart his career in England.

Instead, he stayed. Martin O'Neill returned for a second spell, Celtic steadied, and Yang quietly became one of the pillars of a team that went on to claim a league and cup double. The goals he chipped in with during that run-in were not decoration; they were decisive.

No one at Celtic was shocked when the 24-year-old signed new terms in the summer. He had earned them. He has started this campaign in the same gear he found at the end of the last one, only now there is a sharper edge to his game, a sense of a player who knows exactly how important he is.

That was underlined again on Saturday night in Paisley. With the game tight at St Mirren, Yang produced the winner in a 2-1 victory, his second goal in the space of four days after scoring in the midweek win over Aberdeen. When Celtic needed a moment, he supplied it.

“He is a really important part of the team,” the captain told Sky Sports after the final whistle. “He's a big player to miss, but obviously we wish him the best.”

The numbers back him up. Two goals and an assist in seven games this season show a player who is no longer just a promising option out wide but a regular source of end product. Last season he finished with 10 goals and three assists; this year he already looks on course to surpass that.

Crucially, his profile fits exactly how Celtic want to play. Width is non-negotiable in O'Neill’s current set-up. Wingers are asked to stretch the game, isolate full-backs, and constantly threaten from the flanks. On the left side, Yang has grown into the role to the point where, without external commitments, he would be the automatic pick.

And that is the problem for Celtic now.

Yang will miss the next four matches while he joins up with South Korea for the Asian Games in Japan, where they face Qatar and Saudi Arabia later this month. For his country, he is another attacking weapon. For Celtic, his absence rips out a key strand of their attacking structure.

The timing could hardly be more awkward. Back home, Celtic head to St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership, then walk straight into a League Cup quarter-final against Rangers. After that comes a Europa League tie at home to Ferencvaros, followed by another Old Firm derby in the league at Celtic Park.

Four games. Two domestic rivals, one European test, and a title race that never really pauses.

Yang nearly left once. Celtic kept him, reshaped around him, and watched him grow into a match-winner. Now they have to find out how they cope without him in the weeks that might define their season.