Yang Hyun-jun's Impact at Celtic: A Rising Star
Yang Hyun-jun walked off at Paisley with the look of a man who knows he’s leaving something behind.
Not a farewell speech. A statement.
One swing of his left boot in the 68th minute at The Marbill Coaches Stadium turned a tense afternoon into another Celtic win, his crisp finish making it 2-1 against St Mirren and keeping Martin O’Neill’s side on the rails in the Scottish Premiership. The assist, threaded perfectly into his path, came from Camilo Duran. The finish belonged entirely to Yang.
The South Korean had been sharp all day, but this was the moment that nailed it. A decisive run, the timing of the pass, the clean strike. No fuss, no doubt. Goal. Game turned.
For Yang, it was more than just a match-winner. It was a parting gift.
A rising star heads east
The 24-year-old now leaves Glasgow to join up with the South Korea squad for the Asian Games, and the timing could hardly be more awkward for Celtic. He will miss the midweek trip to Perth to face St Johnstone, the Glasgow derby double header against Rangers and the Europa League opener against Ferencvaros.
For O’Neill, that’s not a minor inconvenience. It’s a genuine problem.
Yang has forced his way into the “undroppable” conversation. A year ago, few would have blinked if his name had been left off the teamsheet. Now, his absence feels like a hole you can see from the stands.
His goal in Paisley was his second in as many games, following his strike against Aberdeen at Celtic Park the previous Wednesday. This is no cameo purple patch. He’s starting to look like a winger who can hurt teams every week.
Left side locked down
What’s striking is how comfortable Yang now looks on the left flank. He hugs the touchline when he needs to, drifts infield when it matters, and always seems to have a defender on the back foot. That suits Celtic perfectly, with Haissem Hassan offering balance on the opposite wing.
Hassan has yet to produce the same end product. The Egyptian international shows the touches, the movement, the intent. The final numbers haven’t landed yet. They will. The structure is there, and Celtic know it.
Yang, though, is already delivering. It’s not just the trickery, the step-overs and feints. He has started to add the one thing that separates a good wide player from a dangerous one: goals. Two games, two finishes, both in tight, pressured situations. That matters.
Those qualities will be badly missed in Perth, in the white heat of the derbies, and under the lights when Ferencvaros come to town for the Europa League clash. Celtic will want a fast start in Europe. They’ll have to find it without one of their most in-form attackers.
From near exit to essential
The scale of Yang’s transformation under Martin O’Neill is stark. It’s hard to think of another recent Celtic player who has improved so dramatically in such a short space of time.
Not so long ago, he was close to the exit door. Around this time last year, a move to Birmingham City for around £3 million was on the verge of happening. Only the chaos and failings of the 2025 summer transfer window stopped it going through.
That aborted deal now looks like a sliding-doors moment. Instead of heading to the Championship, Yang stayed, fought, and reshaped his Celtic career. He has grafted his way from squad option to first-team asset.
You can see it in the way team-mates react when he scores. At Paisley, the celebrations told their own story. Yang wheeled away, arms outstretched, and was quickly engulfed by green and white. Liam Scales was among the first to reach him, the defender roaring in his face as the away end erupted. This is no fringe player being politely congratulated. This is a key man delivering in a key moment.
O’Neill’s project gathers pace
O’Neill’s influence is written all over Yang’s evolution. The veteran Irishman has taken a raw, inconsistent winger and sharpened him into a modern wide forward who understands his role, his angles, his responsibilities.
Yang now presses with purpose, picks his moments to attack, and shows composure in the final third. That’s coaching, but it’s also character. He could have sulked when that Birmingham move collapsed. Instead, he dug in.
No wonder his upcoming absence is being talked about as a “massive blow” around Celtic Park. When a player goes from expendable to indispensable in a year, you pay attention.
If this trajectory continues through the rest of the season, the conversation next summer will be very different. The numbers being mentioned already – the idea of a £25 million-plus transfer – don’t feel outlandish anymore. They feel like a realistic endpoint to a development curve that is still climbing.
For now, though, Celtic’s job is simpler and harder at the same time: find a way to keep winning without him.
They’ll go to Perth without that burst of pace on the left. They’ll walk into a Glasgow derby double header without one of their most confident attackers. They’ll step into Europe against the Hungarian runners-up Ferencvaros without a player who has just started to look like a continental-level threat.
Yang Hyun-jun has earned his call to represent his country. Celtic, meanwhile, are left to count the cost of his progress.
Enjoy him while he’s here. The way this season is shaping up, there might not be many more like him.
