Birmingham City, Norwich & Preston North End in transfer tussle for £2m Celtic player | OneFootball

Yang Hyun-Jun is in-demand in the Championship going into the January window

Birmingham City have seemingly renewed their interest in Celtic winger Yang Hyun-Jun ahead of the January transfer window - but they are not alone, with two Championship rivals also keen on the South Korea international.

Blues are looking for some fresh faces to replenish their squad for the second half of the 2025-26 season, having seen inconsistent results come their way upon their return to the second tier after a record-breaking 111-point haul in League One the prior campaign.

And whilst they already have the likes of Demarai Gray and Patrick Roberts dazzling out wide, they are seemingly set to return to the table in a bid to try and land a previous transfer target.

Birmingham City set to renew Yang Hyun-Jun interest

Despite landing a number of wide players in the summer window, Birmingham were keen on striking a deal for Yang late on - but it never happened.

It was reported by Sky Sports' Anthony Joseph that City offered £1.5 million to the Scottish giants on August 29, but negotiations saw an initial £3 million fee somewhat agreed between the two clubs, and the 23-year-old was all set to travel to the Midlands on deadline day.

However, in a transfer twist, Celtic never fully sanctioned or signed off on the deal, and with Birmingham unable to complete it before the 7pm deadline on September 1, it was labelled as 'collapsed' just over an hour before the window slammed shut.

That saga has seemingly not deterred Birmingham from their interest in the six-cap South Korea international though, as in an update from the aforementioned Joseph, it is said that Chris Davies and his recruitment team are going back in for Yang ahead of the mid-season transfer window opening in just two weeks time, and he could compete with the likes of Gray, Roberts, Keshi Anderson and Lewis Koumas for minutes out wide.

Yang has appeared 18 times for Celtic this season in what has been a drama-filled campaign so far, with Brendan Rodgers resigning as manager and being replaced eventually by Frenchman Wilfried Nancy, who has had a disastrous start to life north of the border - the Asian winger has started three of his first four games in charge though, albeit in a right wing-back role.

Norwich City & Preston North End also keen on Celtic transfer deal

Birmingham are not alone with their interest for Yang though, with two other Championship clubs at opposite ends of the table throwing their names into the mix.

Like Birmingham, Norwich City were also previously interested in a deal for Yang, with Sky Sports' Anthony Joseph claiming in July that the Canaries were keen, but a deal never materialised from there.

They too though are now said to be back at the table for Yang, and they will need reinforcements desperately in January to get out of their current relegation battle - they are managed by Philippe Clement, who will know about the winger from his time as Celtic manager.

A new club that have 'expressed' their interest in Yang though is Preston North End, who have been a surprise package in the Championship in 2025-26 with their current third-placed position in the standings.

Paul Heckingbottom rarely operates with out and out wingers, but the Lilywhites are understood to be keen on Yang, who signed for Celtic for £2 million from Gangwon in the summer of 2023.

It remains to be seen if Yang arrives in the Championship in the upcoming transfer window, but there's certainly going to be a battle on for his signature based on the current levels of interest.