Hyeok-kyu Kwon, born in Busan on 13 March 2001 (age 25), is a South Korean defensive midfielder with a commanding 6ft 3in (1.90m) frame. He came through at Busan I’Park, where his 2023 league season – 20 appearances and two goals – gave Celtic enough reason to take a look beyond the usual markets.
Celtic signed him from Busan I’Park in July 2023 for around £860,000. It was a development move rather than a ready-made answer, and his time in Glasgow was shaped more by the need for senior football elsewhere than by a settled place in the Celtic side.
A spell with Karlsruher followed in August 2024, giving him another route into regular football away from Celtic. He then left Celtic in July 2025 for Nantes in a deal worth around £220,000, before further spells with Nantes and Karlsruher led him back towards a more established period at Busan I’Park.
Kwon’s career so far has been a measured one: Busan beginnings, a brief Celtic chapter, then a run of moves designed to turn promise into steady first-team football. His market value is around £850,000, according to Transfermarkt.
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