There’s little in Cho Gue-sung’s interview with South Korean media outlet Naver.com that provides much encouragement that the striker has his heart set on a sooner-the-better move to Celtic.
And while the player contemplates waiting to the summer rather than getting a move in the January transfer window it’s clear that all it will take is for an English Premier League side to show some interest and Celtic and all the other clubs currently linked with the South Korean World Cup striker will quickly disappear from the reckoning.
“First of all, I will always do my best in the given position. It hasn’t been decided yet. I will do my best in the given position,” Cho Gue-sung told Naver. “There were many articles, so I read a lot. I haven’t heard anything specific. I’m still worried about specific plans, whether it’s better to go in January or transfer in the summer. I’m communicating with director Park Ji-sung and agents.
“All players will want to go out the same when such a good opportunity comes. If I don’t go in the winter, the teams may not want me now in the summer, and the ransom (transfer fee) may drop. I’m thinking about how best to do it.
“We are considering various aspects. If you go in the winter, all the players will be preparing. I’m resting and now I’m lifting my body up. You have to hit 100 per cent right away, but you have to see how competitive you are. As a player, you have to run the game. I wonder how competitive it will be. I think it’s cool. I wonder how long they can wait.
“The transfer fee is also important to me. The transfer fee measures how much the club or team wants me. The higher I go, the more I think I have to work harder.
“Decisions must be made as soon as possible. You have to prepare for the season here and adapt to it when you go. If you stay here, you should prepare well for winter training. The sooner the better.”
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South Korea’s forward #09 Cho Gue-sung celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between South Korea and Ghana at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha, on November 28, 2022. (Photo by JUNG Yeon-je / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
And Gue-sung confirmed he had been in contact with Mainz head coach Bo Svensson, but nil mention of Ange Postecoglou. On communicating with the Mainz boss he said: “We keep in touch through an agent.”
Almost inevitably the dream of playing in the high profile English Premier League appeals most to the Celtic striker, and one crumb of comfort for Celtic supporters hoping that this deal gets done is that our club perhaps provides a proven, well established route for players as a stepping stone to the Premier League, with numerous examples over the years.
On the English Premier League being his ultimate destination Cho Gue-sung said: “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. As a player, I think you set your final goal and go. Every player wants to go to the Premier League. He thinks it is right to go to the growing stage.”
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