Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers will have several decisions to make on fringe players this summer once his side enter pre-season training.
Reports have already suggested that Bosun Lawal could be given a chance to shine following his encouraging loan campaign at Fleetwood Town, though supporters are still in the dark about other individuals.
Undoubtedly, it can be difficult for some new additions to adapt to their new surroundings at Celtic. However, a temporary move away can help to integrate the player successfully into Scottish footballing culture.
Hyeokkyu Kwon falls into this category. Despite the South Korean midfielder failing to make an appearance for the Bhoys following his transfer from Busan iPark last summer, he enjoyed a productive loan spell at St Mirren, making nine appearances as the Buddies secured continental qualification [Transfermarkt].
The 23-year-old impressed in Paisley, though it still isn’t clear what the future could hold for him this summer once he reports back to Lennoxtown.
Hyeokkyu Kwon’s future amid Stephen Robinson’s desires
Stephen Robinson will feel vindicated in his decision to loan Kwon from Celtic, even if his spell did end with an unfortunate hamstring tear during the run-in.
Regardless, he certainly put himself about in black and white, taking on 1.1 shots alongside making 1.6 tackles and five ball recoveries per game on league duty [Sofascore].
Speaking last month, Stephen Robinson declared his ambition to take the enforcer back on loan next term, stating: “Is he an option for next season? Yeah, we’ve spoken with Celtic but it’s very early stages. Celtic will have to assess what they want from Kwon and how they see him fitting in.
“We won’t get a decision on that any time soon. We’ll just try to build a squad in the meantime. We’d love to have him back as he has been very good for us.
“But I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire and hopefully we’ll have a couple of things moving by early next week. We’d love to be in a position to wait. Kwon has been fantastic for us. We’ll stay in dialogue with Celtic, as we do with every team we loan players from.”
There have also been murmurs he could be part of an eight-man squad clearout by Brendan Rodgers, but, as you know, take most things with a pinch of salt at this time of year.
The verdict on what Celtic should do with Kwon this summer
It would be harsh to offload Kwon permanently, after all, he did make an impression at St Mirren, establishing himself as a fan favourite with their supporters.
The most appropriate course of action, in my opinion, would be to loan him out once again, with suitors likely to be intrigued by his imposing profile.
Whether he makes it at Celtic or not is another question; however, if Kwon doesn’t manage to convince Rodgers of his capabilities, then putting him in the shop window could be the best way to recoup some of the £1 million shelled out for his services.