Celtic have reportedly made a major ‘breakthrough’ in their bid to sign Yang Hyun-jun with Gangwon FC now willing to give in and sell the midfielder now to achieve his dream of moving to Europe.
The club were refusing to budge on allowing him to leave until the January transfer window as they are embroiled in a K-League relegation battle. But Sports Chosun now say that they have backed down and that his chance of a summer move have “increased” which could see him soon become a Brendan Rodgers recruit.
The reports says that softening of the club’s stance comes after face to face talks between club chief executive Kim Byeong-ji and the player, adding that the CEO “showed an open-minded and embracing attitude” and that the transfer was no a “matter of time”. Celtic’s transfer pursuit of the player had turned bitter with the player’s representatives accusing the club of breaking promises of allowing him to move on after an earlier move to MLS side Minnesota broke down last year.
Byeong-ji had been unhappy at how the dispute had played out in public over the South Korea Under-23 star, accusing Hyun-jun and his camp of breaking trust. He said: "I saw Yang Hyun-jun’s recent interviews and his mind has seemingly left our club already. This is obviously not a good situation for the club either. I will discuss with Yoon Jung-hwan, our football operations and management to review all these issues.”
And these latest reports suggest they have admitted defeat in the bid to keep the player.
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