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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Walker

Oh Hyeon gyu earns giddy Celtic scouting report as South Korea insider tips 'powerhouse' for the top

Celtic new arrival Oh Hyeon-gyu is a 'powerful predator with excellent technique' according to former South Korea boss Paulo Bento.

The 21-year-old forward left Suwon Samsung Bluewings in his homeland with the fee expected to rise to around £3million. Oh was handed his first cap for his country in November in a friendly against Iceland and was set to be included in the South Korea squad for the World Cup. However, Spurs star Son Heung-min recovered in time from a fractured eye socket and made the squad for the Finals. Celtic newcomer Oh was still taken as the '27th man' in the squad by Portuguese boss Bento and trained with the team in Qatar.

And former Portugal boss Bento, who resigned after guiding South Korea to the last 16 of the tournament, underlined why he called up Oh for his squad initially. He said: "I have been closely watching Oh for about a year. He impressed me a lot. He is a young player who has excellent technique and is a powerful predator in front of goal. His movement is excellent and he is fast. He is also physically very strong. All these attributes are exactly what good strikers need.

"Oh is also strong in the tackle too and reads the game well. It wasn't a snap decision to put him in the World Cup squad, I watched him personally at matches. Having observed him in the training camp too, it was clear that Oh fitted in very comfortably at that level. He scored 13 goals last season and that's a good return at his age.

"When it was confirmed that Son was going to be fit for the World Cup, I explained the situation to Oh and told him he could come with us and be part of the squad, although he wouldn't be in the official 26-man list. He could have stayed at home, but decided to join us because it would be great experience for him and I was delighted to hear that. His time will come soon for the national team."

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