Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers completed the first signing of his second spell at Parkhead last week as Odin Thiago Holm joined on a permanent basis.
The Norwegian midfielder has been snapped up from Valerenga on a five-year deal to bolster the head coach's options in the middle of the park but there could be more business to come at Paradise in the remaining two months of the summer transfer window.
Despite winning the domestic treble, the Hoops could be looking to improve their squad in order to continue their domination of Scottish football whilst also being able to make an impact in Europe.
The Daily Record recently reported that Celtic have been scouting Gwangju battler Jung Ho-yeon and the enforcer could be Rodgers' next version of Nir Bitton at Paradise.
What did Bitton achieve at Celtic?
During the 50-year-old tactician's first spell in Scotland, only Scott Brown (149) of the club's defensive midfielders made more appearances for the club than the Israel international (67) and this shows that the now-31-year-old was one of the head coach's go-to options in that position.
Bitton, who made 1.9 tackles and interceptions per Scottish Premiership outing in his final campaign with the Hoops to Brown's 2.8 in the same metrics, was an anchor in front of the back four who was able to consistently cut out opposition attacks to allow the other midfielders to push forward to make an impact in possession.
Rodgers typically deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation and having a defensive-minded player in one of the two deeper midfield roles allows the number ten to be free to work their magic in the final third without having to stress about putting too much of their effort in off the ball. This is where Jung comes into the frame.
Who is Jung Ho-yeon?
Jung could be a Bitton-esque figure in the number six position for the Northern Irish boss as the 22-year-old has shown promise as a ball-winning midfielder in his short career to date.
He has made 2.1 tackles and interceptions per game for Gwangju in the K League 1 in 2023 and made 2.1 per K League 2 match last year, showing that the young ace is capable of making multiple interventions each outing to win the ball back for his side.
The South Korean titan, who Asian football expert Dario Focardi described as a "prospect", also won 54% of his duels in the second tier and completed 88% of his passes.
This indicates that Jung is a reliable passer who can hold his own in physical contests in the same way that Bitton, who won 54% of his battles and completed 91% of his passes in the 2021/22 Premiership campaign, was for Celtic.
Therefore, the Gwangju star could be Rodgers' next version of the excellent defensive midfielder. Capable of winning back possession on a regular basis whilst holding his own physically and being able to be trusted on the ball, he has all the attributes required.