Celtic are looking to bring Cho Gue-sung to Glasgow this month, though the Scottish champions are facing fierce competition for his signature.
Gue-sung has been linked with a move to Celtic for a few weeks now, with the striker attracting more attention after an impressive 2022 World Cup campaign with South Korea. And, according to Korean outlet Sports Chosun, MLS side Minnesota United have bid £4.2m for the striker, with Rangers, Mainz and Ferencvaros all showing interest in the 24-year-old as well.
Ange Postecoglou may be looking to add to his squad this month, and with Giorgos Giakoumakis looking set for a move away from Celtic Park, a new striker would be needed in his place. Gue-sung has scored eight goals in 11 games for his club Jeonbuk so far this season, and if he was to make the move to Celtic, he would become the Hoops' fourth signing of the January transfer window.
READ MORE: We 'signed' Todd Cantwell for Rangers in January transfer with trophy success for Michael Beale
So, if the Parkhead side were to bring Cho Gue-sung to Glasgow this January, how could he perform? We simulated the rest of the season to try and find out.
We 'signed' Cho Gue-sung for Celtic as a January transfer
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2023 editor to arrange for Gue-sung to make the move to Celtic Park this month, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the remainder of the 2022/23 season to see if the striker could have a big impact on the rest of the Hoops' season.
On his arrival in Glasgow, Gue-sung took his time to fully integrate into the squad, and when he did, injuries saw the striker limited to a small amount of game time. Kyogo Furuhashi kept scoring which made it hard for Gue-sung to start games, with the striker playing 15 times across all competitions.
Out of his 15 appearances, eight were starts and seven were off the bench, with the South Korean scoring twice in that time. Both his goals came in the Scottish Premiership, the same competition where he made most of his appearances, starting seven and making five further appearances from the bench.
But, it wasn't the number of goals that was most important, it was the way he scored them that made the headlines. Both of Gue-sung's goals came in one game, both coming in the Old Firm derby as the striker helped Celtic to a 5-2 win over Rangers, after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Gue-sung played two games in the Scottish Cup whilst appearing once from the bench in the Viaplay Cup, averaging a rating of 7.19 across all competitions. At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best Celtic XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Celtic best XI: (4-3-3): Hart; Juranovic, Starfelt, Carter-Vickers, Bernabei; Mooy, Abildgaard, McGregor; Abada, Kyogo, Jota.
Kyogo ended the season as Celtic's top scorer, managing 24 goals in all competitions and making it impossible for Gue-sung to make the Hoops' best XI. Kyogo was joined in the front three by Jota and Liel Abada, with the former averaging the highest rating per game in the Celtic squad (7.49).
Celtic's results with Gue-sung
Celtic won the Scottish Premiership in the simulated season, with the Hoops finding some terrific form towards the end of the season to secure the trophy. Postecoglou's side tallied 83 points in total, ending the season with the same nine-point gap that they hold over Rangers in second.
The Hoops didn't end the season as the league's top scorers though, with the Gers scoring 61 times, two more than Postecoglou's side.
Celtic also won the Scottish Cup in the simulation, beating Hibernian 3-0 in the final, with Jota, Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda scoring the goals. the Hoops were unable to reach the Viaplay cup final in the simulation though, losing 1-0 to Kilmarnock in the semi-finals.
Overall, FM23 predicts that Gue-sung may find his first few months with Celtic difficult, mainly due to the form of Kyogo and Giorgos Giakoumakis, and a few injuries.
But, the fact that he became an Old Firm derby hero more than made up for his average first few months at the club, with the Hoops boasting impressive attacking options, and you feel that he could make a real impact in his first full season at the club if he signs.
Do you think Gue-sung would be a good signing for Celtic? Let us know below!
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