Euro club open talks to sign £2m Celtic ace

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will have to be wary of losing some of his star players before the summer transfer window slams shut at the start of September.

The Northern Irish head coach lost Matt O’Riley to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2024 and Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes in January, and there are a number of players in the current squad who could follow the Danish ace out of the door this year.

Nicolas Kuhn is one of Celtic’s current stars who could be on his way out of Parkhead before the end of the window, amid reported interest from RB Leipzig.

The German side are reportedly keen on a deal for the 25-year-old attacker, who is said to be valued at more than £17m by the Scottish Premiership champions.

As well as being wary of losing stars, Rodgers must also avoid moving on from squad players too early, before they have a chance to truly flourish, as was once the case with Ryan Christie.

How Celtic messed up with Ryan Christie

In the summer of 2021, Celtic decided to cash in on the left-footed star for a reported fee of £2.5m, as English side Bournemouth swooped in to bolster their squad for their season in the Championship.

The attacking midfielder ended his career in Glasgow with a return of 42 goals and 44 assists in 151 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops, which shows that he was an impressive performer, but not an outstanding one who was consistently delivering 30 goal contributions a season.

Christie was typically deployed on the right flank or as a number ten for the Scottish giants, hence why he posted decent numbers as a scorer and a creator, but Bournemouth took his game to another level by converting him into a deep-lying midfielder.

The majority of his appearances for the Cherries have come in a central or defensive midfield position, which has allowed him to flourish in the Premier League, particularly in the 2024/25 campaign.

As you can see in the table above, Christie has combined his defensive and offensive qualities to make him one of the top box-to-box midfielders in the English top-flight, ranking highly among his positional peers in a host of metrics in and out of possession.

The 30-year-old star’s Transfermarkt value has soared to £8.5m as a result of his fantastic performances in the Premier League, which shows that Celtic messed up by selling him for just £2.5m in 2021.

European side eyeing deal for Celtic forward

The Hoops must avoid repeating the mistake that they made with Christie, when they sold him to the Cherries, amid interest in one of their current attackers.

According to Sky Sports, Polish giants Legia Warsaw have made an enquiry about a deal to sign Celtic winger Hyun-jun Yang in the summer transfer window, as they look to bolster their attacking options.

The report claims that the Europa Conference League outfit are interested in a swoop for the South Korea international, but that they are not the only team in for him.

It adds that there are also clubs in England and across Europe, although unnamed, eyeing up the 23-year-old talent, which shows that he has plenty of suitors waiting to snap him up from Parkhead if he becomes available.

However, Sky Sports does not reveal whether Celtic are willing to part ways with the young forward, who has three years left on his contract with the club, at this moment in time.

Why Celtic should not sell Hyun-jun Yang

The Hoops whiz is currently valued at around £2m by Transfermarkt, similar to the fee that was paid by Bournemouth for Christie, and the club should not be looking to cash in on him for that sort of price this summer.

He is a talented young prospect who still has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and grow into being a key performer for the club on a regular basis, having shown progress during his spell in Glasgow so far.

South Korea national team manager Myung-bo Hong claimed that Yang made a “major impact” in matches for Celtic, in spite of his lack of regular minutes on the pitch, and was impressed by his performances.

The versatile winger managed to produce five goals and two assists in the Scottish Premeirship, despite only starting nine games, which backs up Hong’s comments.

Yang only managed one goal and three assists in 31 outings in all competitions in the 2023/24 campaign for Celtic, then racked up six goals and six assists in 34 matches in all competitions last term for the Scottish giants, which shows a clear progression in his performances.

The South Korean starlet is clearly improving with more experience under his belt in Scottish football, which is why the club should not be looking to cash in on him at this time.

Ahead of Yang’s move to the club in 2023, Gangwon president Kim Byung-ji claimed he “could easily become a world-class player like Son Heung-min”, and this speaks to the kind of potential that the winger could go on to fulfill in the future.

These comments and his improving form for Celtic over the past two seasons suggest that he is on the rise and has the potential to develop into a star for Rodgers if all goes well.

This is why the Hoops must avoid selling him to Legia Warsaw, or any other club, because he could leave to become Ryan Christie 2.0, as another talented star whose value could soar elsewhere after moving on from Parkhead.

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