Yang had just turned 21 when he arrived at Celtic from Gangwon in South Korea in July 2023. He had made 62 starts in senior football but Celtic scouts had been on the case for months. Ange Postecoglou was of the opinion that if the club didn’t move that summer, we would miss the opportunity to take him.
The player’s portfolio was handed to Brendan Rodgers when he took control, just two weeks before Yang signed. It was a low-risk deal for a young player who would need to be developed, but whom the scouting team thought had huge potential.
Roll on 20 months and Yang has 10 Champions League appearances an assist against Bayern Munich under his belt and against Aberdeen last night provided more evidence of what happens when you craft a development path for a player.
A week after Yang arrived in Glasgow, Kwon Hyuk-gyu (then 22) followed. Kwon has yet to play for Celtic but enjoyed rave reviews on loan at St Mirren last season, and has done enough to impress at Hibs this term to bring himself into the South Korea squad. Korea are currently 23rd in the Fifa rankings, 22 places above Scotland.
Speaking last week, the South Korea manager told local press he had met Yang and Kwon on a recent trip to Europe and both were in his plans.
Marco Tillio, then 20, was another who arrived that summer and another who has yet to play for Celtic, apart from a 28-minute cameo in a 1-1 draw with Motherwell. He has continued his development on loan at Melbourne City and scored a peach in the Melbourne derby at the weekend.
A week after Kwon arrived, Gus Lagerbielke, then 23, came in from Elfsborg in Sweden. With substitute appearances, we have seen him 10 times in a Celtic shirt, including a win at Ibrox and a scoring win against Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Others arrived that season. Some (Bernardo, Kuhn) are clear successes. Iwata moved on at breakeven cost, and found an environment at Birmingham which has allowed him to flourish. Louis Palma promised more than he delivered, is now on loan at Olympiacos and could eventually leave at a profit.
The development path has been closed to Odin Holm (20 when he joined but off to the MLS on loan this month) and Maik Nawrocki, who seems to have been given no roadmap.
The summer of 2023 was one of transition. It was setup for Ange Postecoglou by Mark Lawwell, before Brendan’s appointment. Brendan had little time to make assessments. He gave the green light to all who were signed, and brought in loanees Nat Phillips and then Adam Idah from his own network.
The recruitment of young players with elite potential and their subsequent development is where we have to be as a club. It is (genuinely) great to sign known quantities at their peak (Kieran), even if the reality does not match (Nat). It will help “Beat the Rangers” and fulfil all our short term aspirations, if that’s what your thing is. But you and me are not here for the short term.
How many elites will we get from signing players like Yang, Kuhn, Iwata, Bernardo, Kwon, Holm, Tillio, Palma and Nawrocki? Or put it another way, how many will we lose money on, not even serious money?
It is a low risk, high reward strategy. It beats the hell out of signing players in their mid-20s with no appreciable value to earn and in time, we should only get better at it. Clubs everywhere are doubling down on data, learning from others and making it harder to find inefficiencies in the market.
This season, only Viljami Sinisalo met this criteria. Arne is also a development prospect but of a different cost magnitude. How many elites will we get from Viljami? I feel good about Champions League qualification prospects in August and expect us to win the league. But the drift in strategy is a concern.
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Have you seen social media, loads of Celtic supporters asking who Bik Mcfarlane was.
Why not a tifo to a Scottish player who played 148 times for Celtic, including a European Cup final.
HH.
Didn’t see any banner and certainly won’t be offended by proxy.
One suggestion is that a tribute to a recently departed former Celtic goalkeeper may have been appropriate.
Chairbhoy on 26th February 2025 2:25 pm
This time last year it was doom and gloom as R2ngers were going to win the league.
It was interesting how BR&CO concentrated on the hand kicked players, them and the January signings made up, what BR and Calmac referred to as “the group”.
It most certainly worked.
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Yip, CB
And, to borrow Barry’s vernacular …
I’ll bet BR didn’t need to give anyone “a clip round the ear”
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
IMHO
IRA chants?
Boring. Inflammatory. Unnecessary.
Occasional conflation of original IRA (freedom fighters before various splits) and Provisional IRA (killers of civilians) – historically illiterate.
AN TEARMANN on 26TH FEBRUARY 2025 4:13 PM
Dexter P Bampot
In your opinion it was a disgrace,and only yours.
———-
A bit of a leap to speak on every Celtic fans behalf.
aw naw loggie
B2B,
My favourite stat a few years back was you were more likely to be bit by Suarez than a great white shark 😀
An tearmann
What on earth is a fake moniker ?..
I will happily post my comments as I see fit without any regard to you and your misogynistic comments .
Afghanistan knock England out of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan
As someone who knew Evan Williams quite well, I am disappointed that they chose a minute’s applause, in his honour, to display their banner.
They could have waited.
IMHO!
i will stop singing about Bobby Sands as soon as the Rangers supporters do.
Majestic Hartson on 26th February 2025 5:11 pm
My favourite stat a few years back was you were more likely to be bit by Suarez than a great white shark 😀
—-
MJ – serious Lol.
😅😅😅
Saint Stivs
Are you still in the playground?
Why do you have to drop down to their level ?
Tell you what really irks me.People coming on here,and trying to ram it down other peoples throats,that last night was a good performance.Kid yourself on all you like,but a performance as bad as that against Hibs next week,could see us blow the treble.Granted our finishing was excellent,but Aberdeen could have been 2 up before we scored.Abysmal efforts at defending,not just one player,as a whole.Shoddy passing,terrible choices,no control in the midfield,until much later in the 2nd half,even being 4 up.From our corner,stupid choices let them into scoring a record busting goal.
Hibs will not be so generous.Our goals were great,our overall performance,anything but.
Not kidding me on.Maybe some others,trying to be Uber Tims,like the brain dead “Staunch” across the river.
The strategy was always a mix. You can see it in the team that has done so well this season, we have a squad full of players who were signed with no view to development and sale, development players were considered to be a vital part of the overall plan but not the only signings we looked to make. It was a tried and tested formula.
Summer 2023 seems to have become proof positive that not only was the strategy a failure, but also that signing young players that nobody had heard of (including the manager) was the only profile of player we looked at. It wasnt, we had one window where that was the case.
Any long term strategy that relies on developement of players over a period, and no instant payoff from player we’ve heard of or who have the profile that shouts instant impact, will be unpopular. The rush to declare a window a success or failure means success stories like Kuhn get forgotten until the next window when the same complaints get wheeled out. Impatience means good players leave and are seemingly replaced by inferior ones – even if the ones going were inferior in t he first place.
The big worry is what happens after Brendan leaves, we may not have anyone coming through, an older team coming to the ends of their contracts and little sale value. Fewer funds to replace them, a worse football manager than Brendan almost certainly.
Brendans management skills are obvious, but he’s neglecting what should be a vital part of any Celtic managers job. I understand that he wants to put the best Celtic team on the pitch today, taking as few risks as possible with his signings, but he’s doing Celtic a disservice if he isnt also using his skills at developing young players for the future.
An Tearmann.
4:13.
Very well said.
Majestic Hartson on 26th February 2025 5:08 pm
AN TEARMANN on 26TH FEBRUARY 2025 4:13 PM
Dexter P Bampot
In your opinion it was a disgrace,and only yours.
———-
A bit of a leap to speak on every Celtic fans behalf.
==================================
Not a leap made by me MH
==================
Greenpinata
Re social media,it depends what you look at and the algorithm takes it from there,mines differs from yours,long may it be so.but heyho.
Evan was a lovely man and the photo of his outstretched hand as Ove Kindvall lobs him has been imprinted on my brain since that 1970 final
God bless him,he wore the hoops goalie top
HH
I read that the new coaching staff at ibrox have introduced red white and blue cones to their training program. They are hoping that this is the missing ingredient which will help them reduce the gap between them and us.
On the question of”Banners” that some find shocking.I take it,they mean,just our banners.
The Nazi banner still on show at Ibrox.The monstrous Tifo,at a European match,glorifying”Billy The Butcher”.A notorious murderer of Irish Catholic immigrants to America.UDA,UVF,flags,and songs celebrating murder gangs in Ireland,guilty of scores of sectarian killings,idolized by the Ibrox hordes.Which brings us to the old faithful.the banned by Scottish Courts,and UEFA,” The Billy Boys”,a ditty so sectarian,it defies belief.Belted out every week with great gusto,that the scribes,so shocked at the GB display,don’t hear,don’t see,or when forced to,call it”A wonderfull atmosphere”,ably abetted by Mr Mc Coist..
Take their headlines,and tell them to ram them.
Sheepremaininsidethepen
HH
Evening all.
TURKEYBHOY @6.48pm.
Spot on, I absolutely agree.
Back to Basics – Glass Half Full on 26th February 2025 5:00 pm
IMHO
IRA chants?
Boring. Inflammatory. Unnecessary.
Occasional conflation of original IRA (freedom fighters before various splits) and Provisional IRA (killers of civilians) – historically illiterate.
======================================
B2B
You and i do not sing them
You and i sang them at one time or another as we went to see Celtic growing up.
As we were tut-tutted at by the older generation for ‘walking down the London Road swinging a chain and asking an orange man his name’ we learned and love of Celtic grew.
My old mans generation had difficulty waving any symbol of ireland in the 20s & 30s without the polis getting in about them to confiscate,songs like Hail glorious St.Patrick,Erins right were seen as hostile,we have moved on from then,the supremacy has gone(in reality)
Am afraid it is your contrast that is historically illiterate imo B2b,the one with the original ira who maimed,slaughtered and murdered-freedom fighters(good ol ra) and the provisional ira who maimed slaughtered and murdered in a protestant state for a protestant people with no vote in a lot of cases(bad ol ra)
Thankfully the historical imbalances have been corrected and a Sinn Fein member is 1st minister(turn once in your grave Mr Craig) peace is now at play and the folk there liike it and are being heard on both sides of the community thanks to men like David Irvine and Bik McFarlane.
Lastly B2B Imo songs of Ireland and Celtic go hand in hand like green and white hoops,it will always inspire song and verse as it is the finest example of the irish diaspora at work on this planet.
Hail Hail
Celtic40Me,
While I applaud the new signing policy,a bit less than the previous,it might still have faults,in the bang for buck we get.A few of the signings,have not yet shown what we would have hoped.Idah,is struggling at the moment to maintain any kind of consistent form.As is Trusty.Engels has taken a bit of time,but is now showing promise of a bright future.On that subject,if the boy Odin had been given the same chances,and magical BR coaching,what’s to say,he would not be in that bracket?.Same could be said of Lagerbielke,doing very well at Twente.No chances for either really,in spite of being POTY in their respective countries,prior to us.
In football,getting your chance is everything.Sometimes seems,some get more chances than others,sometimes because of who signed you.
i take it all back.
everybody knows celtic were rubbish last night, lucky to take 16 shots jammy to score 5 of them, and really fortunate to only lose a single goal from aberdeens only shot on target.
all the players, all of them were shite, that jota, whit is he like and that maeda one trick bunny.
the manager is leaving. the supporters dont turn up or if they do they only watch 70 minutes.
if we play like that against hibs we will celtic it for the treble.
those that live abroad and watch on tv at least can switch it off,
did the celtic defense give that goal away on purpose ?
i will be glad when this season is over.
AULDHEID
Can you get my email from Paul 67 and we can discuss further?
Sargassosea
Bless, Sky Sports overflowing with nostalgia.
It’s a tactic frequently deployed by politicians – when the future looks bleak, glorify the past.
The main question for tonight: does McInnes do his old chums a favour, or is he in the huff because he didn’t get a call.
My money’s on the former.
Can anyone let us know if Bazza is wearing brown brogues?
Bazza looking very” Staunch” tonight on SS.The chin out,the tie,no drop down to the footwear,but I am sure he has had his Chitty for the Co-Op to purchase a shiny new pair,to go with the blue Tin Flute.( Pardon the pun).
Oh yes.
The Blogger,
When has McInnes ever done them a favour at Rugby Park?.I will give him that.
Not the steam off my P—,but that.
We’ll see.
SS,
Becoming the norm for you.Puerile,childish replies.
Very sad.I used to read your posts.
Turkeybhoy 18.26
I agree.
TT
Off now to watch the Panto on Plastic.Until they score.
hhhmmm, thought sherlock, he must have read my post to reply.
Agree re last night’s performance
Andrena on 26th February 2025 1:50 pm
Why do you even bother asking If I care, I simply made a point of fact. Nelson Mandela killed thousands.
Who is reffing sevco game?
back to basics
we have to be careful not to think
brutal violence of a 100 years ago was good
brutal violence of 50 years ago was bad