CELTIC will block any moves from South Korea to call up Yang Hyun-jun for their Olympic qualification bid next month.
The right-winger is likely to be in head coach Hwang Sun-hong’s plans for the tournament in Qatar as he prepares his squad for the finals in Paris which are due to run from July 24 to August 10 this year.
If his nation win through, Yang will almost certainly miss the start of the 2024/25 season, but there is no rquirement for the Hoops to release their player for the qualifiers which do not figure in FIFA’s international calendar.
The 21-year-old wide Bhoy, who was recruited from K-League outfit Gangwon FC for £2.1million in the summer, would miss at least FOUR domestic games if Brendan Rodgers gave the green light for his player’s release.
ON THE BALL…winger Yang Hyun-jun is poised to play an important role for Celtic in the run-in.
That won’t happen and Yang could be a key player as the champions prepare for crucial eight-match run-in to the Premiership crescendo and will return to the squad for Sunday’s trip to Livingston.
The forward was forced to sit out the last two games against Livingston and St Johnstone after his preposterous red card in the 2-0 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle on March 3.
The club appealed against the automatic two-game ban, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts.
Yang’s international boss Sun-hong is already looking at replacements for his foreign-based players.
Quizzed about the situation, he told the Scottish Sun: “I will have a final meeting with the staff, but this is a difficult part.
