Yang Hyun-jun: Why Celtic is perfect for 'explosive' dribbler

After a prolonged transfer saga, including public disputes between the player and Gangwon FC, the South Korean winger got his desired move to the Scottish champions for an undisclosed fee.

This scouting report will take a closer look at the forward, examining his data, assessing his playing style, and outlining his key strengths and areas for improvement. 

Player profile 

Born in Buson, Yang made his debut for Gangwon in May 2021, going on to make another five appearances in his first season in professional football.  

He then enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2022, making 31 appearances, scoring eight goals and providing eight assists as Gangwon secured a sixth-place finish in the K League 1. Yang was subsequently named the league’s Young Player of the Year and called up to the South Korean under-23 side for the first time.

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He was also part of the full national squad for their World Cup warm-up friendlies last year but did not get onto the pitch during those games or make the final squad for Qatar. 

The 2023 season has proved much more difficult for Yang and Gangwon. They currently sit 11th in the 12-team K League 1 with only two wins from 18 games. Yang has struggled to replicate his 2022 form too, managing just one goal and one assist in his 17 matches.

Predominately a right-winger, Yang has been deployed across the front line in Gangwon’s attack over the last few years. According to Wyscout, since his debut most of his minutes have come on the right (2,172 mins) but he has also played a considerable amount of minutes as a centre-forward (1,760 mins) and on the left (1,151 mins). The remainder of his career minutes to date (711 mins) have come as an attacking midfielder or a central midfielder. 

This year, the right-footed Yang has been used as a wide midfielder on the right or as a central striker with Gangwon lining up in either a 5-4-1 or 5-3-2. 

In terms of his physical profile, he has an average build and is just under 5ft 9in, on the taller side for a winger. 

The above percentile rank chart can start to build a picture of Yang’s playing profile. The chart uses Wyscout per-90-minute data converted into percentile ranks to compare him with other wingers and central attacking midfielders in the K League 1 in the last calendar year. Covering the 2023 season, as well as a chunk of the 2022 season, the chart includes several key attacking, possession and defending metrics.

Looking at Yang’s attacking section first, he ranks highly for goal contributions (0.47 per 90). In the last calendar year, he has averaged 0.25 goals per 90 and 0.22 assist per 90, which is a bit above his expected output (0.38 expected goal contributions per 90). 

That overperformance is down to a bit of a disparity between his expected assists and actual assists – his xA per 90 has only been 0.09 per 90 so there has been an "overperformance" in that sense while he has underperformed slightly in a goal sense, actually generating more xG (0.29 per 90) compared to his actual 0.25 goals per 90. 

Yang appears to be a relatively high-volume shooter with his 2.07 shots per 90 seeing him rank above the 75th percentile amongst the rest of his positional peers in South Korea’s top flight. His shots on target percentage ranks in the bottom quartile, with Yang managing to get 29.85 per cent of his shots on target. 

For crossing, he doesn’t attempt a huge amount, just 1.2 per 90, but he does have an above-average accuracy rate when he does (33.33 per cent). Finally, in his attacking section, we can see he has been active in the box with a high rank for touches in the box (3.88 per 90). 

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Yang’s dribbling numbers stand out in his possession section with the winger ranking highly for both volume and success rate. He has attempted 4.44 dribbles per 90 in the last 365 days, completing 57.64 per cent of those. 

His progressive runs, a carry that takes a player’s team considerably closer to the goal, can tell us a bit more about his ball-carrying ability. At 1.57 per 90, he doesn’t rank quite as highly here. 

Carrying is clearly how Yang progresses the ball more often than not though as we can see he ranks towards the lower end for progressive passes (2.59 per 90) compared to his combined dribbles and progressive runs of over six. 

He only ranks slightly higher for his dangerous passes (0.68 per 90), a combination of key passes (0.37 per 90) and through passes (0.31 per 90) too. 

Finally, on his chart, the defensive section shows that Yang is involved in, and wins, an average amount of defensive duels for a K League 1 winger or central attacking midfielder. He has averaged 5.24 defensive duels per 90 in the last year, winning 59.41 per cent of them. His 1.83 PAdj interceptions per 90 are among the lowest among players in his position.   

Attacking

As highlighted in his percentile rank chart, Yang has contributed well for Gangwon when it comes to goals, particularly in last year’s K League 1, where he bagged eight goals in his first full season. 

The above graphic which maps Yang’s shots from the last calendar, shows most of the young attackers’ goals have come from the right side, just inside the box. Although mostly off his right foot, a chunk of his efforts on goal have come off his left and he has also had a handful of headed efforts too. 

As seen in his chart, Yang’s shots on-target percentage did not rank too favourably against his positional peers in the K League 1 and his shot map here highlights some poor shot selections with a cluster of shots from distance outside the box. Of his 13 efforts from outside the box, just one has been on target. 

Overall, his shooting can be a bit erratic, sometimes rushing finishes. That is highlighted by his underperformance in terms of xG as well. Last season he scored fewer goals than he might have been expected to, scoring eight goals from a total xG of 9.98. This year has been similar too with Yang only finding the net once despite registering a total xG value of 2.98. 

Although he has missed some high-quality chances, Yang does demonstrate good finishing and although sometimes he does lack composure at times, he has also shown he can remain calm in front of goals on other occasions as well. 

He could be described as an instinctive finisher, often finishing first time or taking just one touch to set himself before getting his shot away, such as in the below example against Incheon United. 

Taking a touch on his right thigh to control a headed knockdown from a teammate in the box, Yang finishes well with a cleanly struck volley off his left. 

Yang has also shown some nice invention in his finishing, such as the above example against Suwon FC where he flicked the ball into the far corner from a low cross. 

Possession 

As indicated in his percentile rank chart, one of Yang’s biggest strengths is certainly his dribbling. Yang possesses quite excellent dribbling abilities, combining close ball control with quick changes of direction, which enable him to navigate through tight spaces and take on defenders effectively.

His acceleration and agility allow him to burst past opponents and create opportunities for himself and his team-mates. He also demonstrates good spatial awareness, picking up pockets of space in the final third to receive the ball and contribute positively to attacking play.

The above graphic gives some further insight into Yang’s dribbling. Mapping all his dribbles in the final third, it shows Yang’s effective dribbling has directly led to four goals for Gangwon in the last year. 

The below example against Daegu showcases Yang’s explosive dribbling. 

Picking up the ball just over the halfway line in the opposition half on the touchline, Yang pauses before skipping by one opponent and then bursting past another to attack the centre of the pitch. 

Taking the ball on another few strides, he then showed good awareness to spot the run of his team-mate on the opposite side, playing an accurate pass out wide to him. 

This led to an opportunity for his teammate to fire a dangerous ball into the box. 

Defending

The above graphic gives some further insight into Yang’s abilities off-the-ball. Although he didn’t rank too highly in his percentile rank chart for the defensive section earlier, Yang scores not too badly in these additional metrics. 

He has registered the 26th most recoveries in the final third in this year’s K League 1 (1.63 per 90) and, more impressively, inside the top 20 for counter-pressing recoveries, a recovery within five seconds of losing possession (3.26 per 90). It is worth highlighting that the numbers in this graphic are for any player who has played just 90 minutes so these stats are not quite as robust as the ones included in the percentile rank chart. 

Watching him on video he certainly shows a willingness to track back and help his team but there is room for improvement in terms of his defensive work. He could show more aggression when closing down opponents at times though, as well as knowing when and where to press most effectively. 

There are still some good examples of the positive impact of Yang’s work off-the-ball, such as the below against Jeonbuk Motors.  

Chasing down the ball after Gangwon cleared from a Jeonbuk attacking corner, Yang shows great determination to chase down the centre-back.

Catching up with the defender, he then shows good strength to win the duel and leave the Jeonbuk player on the deck. 

From there, Yang races through on goal before showing excellent composure to lift the ball over the keeper and secure Gangwon a late win away from home.

Conclusion

Despite a difficult campaign this season Yang is still an interesting prospect with some really exciting attributes. He has impressive technical skills, particularly his dribbling, and gets into good goal-scoring positions. His versatility to play across the front line is also appealing. 

His decision-making, in terms of shot selection and when to release that final ball, is definitely an area for improvement for Yang while further development in terms of his physical strength will also be crucial in unlocking his full potential. 

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He is ready to make the next step in his career though, and Celtic - as they have for his international compatriot Oh - will offer Yang the perfect platform to develop further. 

From Celtic’s perspective, although possibly unlikely to come in as starting 11 player straight away, Yang will offer a good rotation option in the first instance, particularly on that right side where options are currently more limited than the left, with the potential to then challenge for a regular first-team spot should he continue to develop.