Oh Hyeon-gyu thrilled at prospect of Celtic going to Korea to play trio of giants

A whole new frontier opened up for Oh Hyeon-gyu when he moved to Celtic from his Korean homeland in January.

Celtic's Oh Hyeon-gyu, left, scored last weekend for Celtic in the 5-1 win over St Mirren.

The 21-year-old striker’s mind is boggled by that, within months of that life-changing switch, he could be given the opportunity to offer his new confreres a window into his old world. That prospect has been raised by reports that Ange Postecoglou’s team are looking at embarking on a pre-season tour of Asia that will see them play Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City in Japan, before spending a few days in South Korea. “I could never have imagined I would have the chance to go to Korea with Celtic,” Oh said. “If it were to happen it would be a new experience for me and I would be very proud to show them my country.”

The bustling forward’s mentality has clearly been shaped by his upbringing. In particular, completing his national service by joining army team Gimcheon Sangmu before turning professional with Suwon Bluewings, whom Celtic paid £2.5million to recruit him in the closing days of the January transfer window. The football brought him more satisfaction than the military training, he jokes, but his sense of obligation and serving the collective suggests both elements made their mark on him. “I believe I have a lot to show to the fans and am conscious always to do my best for them so they will not be disappointed in me,” he said.

This band won’t be disappointed in Oh’s surprise claim when it comes to a sense of anticipation over the seemingly-inevitable title triumph for Postecoglou’s men that will allow him to make good on his career dream of playing in the Champions League. “These were the games I watched on television in Korea when I was young. I always supported Celtic but I also watched the games of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich to learn everything I could from their quality,” said a young player learning from the Celtic’s striking phenomenon Kyogo Furuhashi, as he takes the understudy role to Postecoglou’s lynchpin. “I was particularly interested in front line players, those were the ones I tried to learn from. Karim Benzema and others too. The games at this level give you the chance to play against the best players in the world so I will do my best to prepare for next season as well I possibly can.”