Celtic's Asian scouting strategy will only benefit the club

Celtic and the continent of Asia have had a very fruitful relationship with regard to players.

From examples in recent history such as Shunsuke Nakamura and Ki Sung-yueng, to current stars in the team like Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Oh Hyeon-gyu, the club and the East have collaborated well in a footballing capacity.

Therefore, it was a worry when former manager Ange Postecoglou left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur with regard to this rekindled relationship between the two parties. After all, it was the Australian who identified players such as Kyogo, Hatate and Daizen Maeda, having either faced them whilst managing in Japan or – in the case of the latter player – worked under him at Yokohama F Marinos.

Following the re-appointment of Brendan Rodgers after four years away from the club, some quarters were concerned that this conveyor belt of talent was about to be out of commission, in favour of players from down south or elsewhere in Europe.

Perhaps the signings of Oh, Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata were to be the last in a short but successful transfer period between Celtic and Asian football?

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Thankfully, it looks as if these worries will be put to bed, with the imminent arrivals of South Korean duo Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyeok-kyu from Gangwon FC and Busan IPark respectively.

Both players have come out publicly in the media expressing their desire to move to Scotland, with Yang even offering to pay some of the transfer fee in order to make the deal possible.

The attacker told South Korean media: “I want to go to Celtic this summer. I hope Gangwon will allow me to transfer. If the transfer fee isn’t enough, I’ll even give my salary.

"It is an opportunity that does not come easily (to join Celtic). I told the CEO, general manager, and coach that I wanted to advance. Celtic is a good offer, so I want to go. I have to do my best as a member of Gangwon. But I think the desire to go will still be there."

Kwon has also waxed lyrical about his move to the club, with the midfielder well-aware of how successful one of his idols was in Scotland. He told local media: "This is a dream come true for me.

"I used to watch Ki Sung-Yueng as a kid when he was at Celtic. He was an amazing player. As a child, I looked up to him and admired him, so it's a great feeling to go there too.

“At Celtic, I intend to be a success and I hope it will also help me get international recognition too."

Both Yang and Kwon seem positive about their moves to Scotland, especially with fellow countryman Oh already at the club. As a club, Celtic should be in a positive mindset too, as they have successfully managed to stick to their transfer strategy despite a managerial change.

A lot of the credit will have to go to Mark Lawwell and his team of scouts, as they will have done virtually all of the work in identifying, scouting and securing the signatures of the two new arrivals. Rodgers would have had the final say on incomings, but it is heartening to see that the club are continuing with this transfer model.

The continuation of Asian talent from the continent making the move over to Celtic shows that the club have a plan that is both coherent and consistent over a number of years. It also highlights that power has been delegated from the manager to the scouting team, meaning that a change of management would not result in confusion or a departure of strategy in the process.

It would not make sense to abandon this model of operating, given the success it has brought the team already. Kyogo was the club’s top goal-scorer in the last two campaigns in all competitions, whilst Hatate and Maeda have established themselves as two of the first names on the team-sheet when operating in the Celtic starting XI.

Even the two newest recruits’ fellow countryman in Oh has made his presence felt in a short space of time, with plenty more to come from himself in the coming years.

That is not to say that Celtic will not be scouting in other areas for talent, but it is important that this pathway for Asian talent available to the club is maintained. It will be interesting to see if there will be similar pathways opened up in the likes of South America and Africa – areas Lawwell would have no doubt been monitoring during his spell at the City Group prior to his move to Celtic.

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Celtic are clearly doing their due diligence when it comes to player recruitment. Although these players are not-yet household names, the Asian market has been a massive positive for the club over the past couple of years, with that trend likely to continue thanks to the upkeep of a consistent and proven successful transfer policy.

Time will tell if Yang and Kwon can become established names in the Celtic first team, but the early rumblings from those who have watched the pair in action have been positive. Hopefully now, the days of lazy acquisitions from down south are behind the club, with a more targeted scouting and recruitment process now in operation.

It's a long way from the Far East to Glasgow's East End, but what is certain is that the Asian conveyor belt of talent continues to motor on, even under the stewardship of Rodgers.

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