Why Celtic deadline day deal failed to materialise as ex-Hoops hero labelled 'just as good'
The Celtic forward came close to leaving the club on deadline day
The transfer of a former Celtic hero has been revealed as one of the key factors behind the failed deadline day departure of winger Yang Hyun-Jun to Birmingham City.
The 23-year-old South Korean looked destined to leave Celtic Park on the final day of the summer transfer window, with Yang believed to have travelled to St Andrew’s in order to tie up a deal that would have seen him link up with former Celtic teammates Kyogo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata.
Adam Idah made a permanent departure from the Scottish champions with the Republic of Ireland striker signing for Swansea City for a fee of around £6million, and, according to several reports, the South Korean international was expected to join him in the English second-tier after being identified as a key target by Birmingham boss Chris Davies.
A transfer fee and personal terms were believed to have been agreed, only for the move to collapse in the final throes of the deadline, with Celtic refusing to sanction the deal until a replacement had been found. While the £5.2million signing of Sebastian Tounekti ensured they found an adequate replacement, Yang remained a Celtic player beyond the deadline, with Birmingham opting to sign former Hoops hero Patrick Roberts on loan from Sunderland instead.
Roberts won three Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups, and two Scottish League Cups at Celtic after joining from Manchester City on a two-and-a-half-year loan spell back in 2016. Moving to the Midlands on a season-long loan, he had been linked with a permanent move to Derby County. However, it was his availability in the final hours of the summer window that proved pivotal in Yang’s move from Celtic collapsing, according to journalist Graeme Bailey.
“I believe that Birmingham pulled out of that one because they just weren’t willing to wait,” Bailey said. “Obviously, Celtic did get Tounekti in, but that was very late. So, I think the option for Birmingham was to bring Roberts in, and they couldn’t afford to wait and then be left with no options, so I think they went with Roberts just because it was there to be done and they see him as being just as good.
“It was the player's decision. I’m not sure how close Derby County were to a permanent deal because that’s very expensive. I’m not sure they would have still had the funds in place to do that because it would have been pretty big, and with his contract as well, but it was down to the player. Obviously, he saw Birmingham was a better option for him at this time, which again probably isn’t a huge surprise.”
Speaking about his decision to join the club, Roberts admitted opportunity to link up with Blues boss Davies again, who was his assistant manager during his time at Celtic, was too good to turn down. “I know the manager,” said Roberts. “I used to work with him a few years ago when I was younger [Celtic]. One phone call with him was all I needed. I'm looking forward and getting started. He was a huge influence. I was only young when I was at Celtic; he and Brendan Rodgers at the time both helped me.”
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