Two more players linked – and then the links were played down but should they have been?

In a period of three hours yesterday afternoon the Swans were linked with a swoop for both Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu & Gangwon defender Lee Gi-hyuk whilst the reports were soon reported as being “wide of the mark” and unlikely to happen unless something dramatically changes.

The two links came from people who reported on the deal that will soon see Eom Ji-Sung confirmed as a Swansea City player.

First off yesterday afternoon came the report from Joel Kim who posted the tweet below shortly after 3pm

💬 | Swansea keen on more Korean players 🇰🇷

W/ Eom in the flock, I'm told #Swans are exploring the 🇰🇷 market for more players and are interested in Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu & Gangwon defender Lee Gi-hyuk. Korean news have yet to report, so stay tuned!🫡🇰🇷#오현규 #이기혁 pic.twitter.com/PbbznbCLD5

— Joel Kim (@KNTFootball) July 11, 2024

Striker Oh has fallen out of favour at Celtic Park and by the end of the season wasn’t even in the matchday squad and it is believed that his chances will be limited again in the coming season.

He signed a five-year deal in January 2023 and initially featured regularly under Ange Postecoglou but fell out of favour under former Swans boss Brendan Rodgers and has also been the subject of interest from various clubs across Europe.

It is believed that Celtic chiefs are expected to consider offers for 23-year-old Oh and several other fringe men this summer.

With the recent departure of Nathan Wood the Swans are known to be in the market for a central defender but you have to question whether Gi-hyuk would tick the boxes that we are looking at.  The 23-year-old made 19 appearances for his club in the K-League last season, and has previously played for the likes of Suwon FC and Jeju United.

The two links though were dismissed just three hours later by Jason (Hanshin) Lee who tweeted the following

Understood that this is wide of the mark. As of right now, Swansea’s priorities lie elsewhere, and they are unlikely to dive into the Korean market unless things change drastically in the coming days and weeks. https://t.co/H9wNnQKIZJ

— Jason (Hanshin) Lee (@Jasons_JaysHub) July 11, 2024

Two tweets, two conflicting reports so difficult to know which one is nearest the truth (technically both could be) but with Ian Mitchelmore wading in and saying that the interest in Oh Hyeon-gyu is genuine you have to assume that the first tweet may prove to be closer to the mark than was suggested afterwards.   It is worth adding here that Mitch added that a move for Oh would “prove tricky” and it’s understandable why when you consider the potential price tag that the player could be labelled with.

Watch these ones closely, no smoke without fire and all that