Birmingham City were confident of landing Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun on deadline day, with a £3 million transfer lined up.
The South Korean international was even reported to have travelled south for a medical before the move was sensationally pulled at the last minute.
The collapse of the deal had a major impact on Celtic’s own transfer activity. Brendan Rodgers and his staff had been considering a late swoop for Burnley’s Manuel Benson, but once Yang was confirmed to be staying, that pursuit was abandoned.
Birmingham quickly turned their attention to Patrick Roberts, completing a permanent deal to bring him back to St Andrew’s. The Championship side moved on after deciding they could not afford to wait for Celtic’s uncertainty to resolve itself.
Journalist Graeme Bailey reflected on the saga, making clear why Birmingham acted as they did.
He said: (EFL Analysis), “I believe that Birmingham pulled out of that one because they just weren’t willing to wait.
“Obviously Celtic did get Tounetki in, the Norwegian, 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.”
For Celtic, the outcome leaves Yang still in Glasgow and the squad without fresh cover on the right flank. Sebastian Tounekti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha arrived, but both are naturally left-sided, meaning the balance of Rodgers’ attack remains a concern.
The failure to offload Yang and move for Benson is another example of the reactive nature of the Hoops’ window. With Kasper Dolberg and David Datro Fofana also slipping away, and Adam Idah leaving for Swansea, the window ended with Rodgers short of the quality he had called for.
While Birmingham secured Roberts, Celtic’s winger plans once again fell short, leaving Rodgers with plenty of questions still unanswered.
