Celtic striker Hyeongyu Oh seems to be settling in nicely at Celtic after scoring his first goal for the club in Celtic’s 5-1 Scottish Cup fifth-round tie with St Mirren on Saturday evening, but a little security has also been added with Joe Hart drafted in for some assistance, after a telephone call from Oh’s international teammate and Hart’s former dressing room pal Son Heung-min.
Oh somewhat graciously agreed to give up his World-Cup squad place for Son, after the Spurs striker surprisingly recovered from injury in time to take part in South Korea’s World Cup. And it seems the Spurs attacker is taking a keen interest in ensuring his countryman settles into life in Scotland, with Oh confirming, as reported in the Daily Record , a watching brief awaits for Joe Hart thanks to Son’s intervention.
“Joe Hart was a teammate of Son at Spurs and he’s told me that they’d spoken on the phone and Son told him to look after me! He’s been great, he’s been helping me settle in.
“I have spoken to a few of the Korean players who are playing in the UK, guys like Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan at Wolves. They haven’t given me advice as such, but they have told me what the game is like over here and what to expect. They contacted me first and asked me how my life was. I am grateful that Heung-min and Hee-chan hyung got in touch and it gave me great strength.”
Oh may well still take a bit of time to get up to speed as a Celtic player with Ange Postecoglou keen to gradually introduce the striker from the subs bench so far, but that could well change depending upon the outcome of Kyogo’s shoulder scan after picking up an injury in the first half of Celtic’s impressive Scottish win over the Saints.
Oh may have expected to be called into action to replace Kyogo on Saturday. However, Ange Postecoglou chose to introduce Liel Abada instead, as the Celtic boss shifted Daizen Maeda to a central role, Jota to the left wing and Abada to the right. A decision that paid almost immediate dividends, as it was Maeda who scored Celtic’s opening goal.
However, Oh wasn’t to be denied his first goal in the Hoops. And after coming on as a second half substitute the South Korean striker broke his duck with a close-range tap-in that showed a real striker’s instinct to follow in and finish, after Callum McGregor’s shot on goal was spilled by Saints ‘keeper Trevor Carson.
Everyone will have their fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for Kyogo, but if not, it appears in Daizen Maeda and in Oh -under the watchful eye of Joe Hart – Celtic have the strength in depth to ensure the goals keep flowing.
Niall J
