French
DeutschKwon Hyeok-kyu
.jpg) Kwon training with Celtic in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 March 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Busan, South Korea | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nantes | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2019 | Busan IPark | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2023 | Busan IPark | 43 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | → Gimcheon Sangmu (draft) | 33 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Celtic | 0 | (0) |
| 2024 | → St Mirren (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Hibernian (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2025– | Nantes | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | South Korea U14 | 4 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | South Korea U17 | 14 | (2) |
| 2019 | South Korea U20 | 7 | (3) |
| 2021– | South Korea U23 | 14 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 July 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
| Kwon Hyeok-kyu | |
| Hangul | 권혁규 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 權赫圭 |
| Revised Romanization | Gwon Hyeokgyu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kwŏn Hyŏkkyu |
Kwon Hyeok-kyu (Korean: 권혁규; born 13 March 2001) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nantes.
Club career
[edit]Kwon started playing football at under-12 team of K League club Busan IPark in 2010, playing for Busan's youth teams for 10 years.[1] On 16 July 2019, Kwon was promoted to Busan's senior team.[2] On 14 September, he made his professional debut as a starting central midfielder in a K League 2 match against Jeonnam Dragons.[3] Busan was promoted to the K League 1 at the end of the season, and so he became a first division player the next season.
In April 2021, Kwon was enlisted in military team Gimcheon Sangmu, performing his mandatory military service for one and a half years.[4] He won the K League 2 title as he played as a defensive midfielder for Sangmu that year.[5] On 7 September 2022, he returned to Busan by being discharged from the military service.[6]
Kwon received an offer from Scottish Premiership club Celtic in December 2022,[7] and their deal was done in July 2023. On 24 July, Celtic announced that he had signed on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[8] He said his ambition to become Celtic's best player and advance to the Bundesliga or the Premier League in an interview with Busan Ilbo before the transfer.[9][10] His interview embarrassed Celtic supporters, but there was also a positive view that he was a honest player who set a clear goal.[11]
Kwon had failed to make his debut at Celtic and was loaned to St Mirren from January to May 2024 and Hibernian in the 2024–25 season.[12][13] At the two Scottish clubs, he made 29 Premiership appearances, but had a hard time with two injuries.[14][15]
On 25 July 2025, Kwon signed a three-year contract with Ligue 1 club Nantes.[16]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of 25 July 2025[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Busan IPark | 2019 | K League 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | K League 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | K League 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | K League 2 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 2 | ||
| Total | 43 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 46 | 3 | |||
| Gimcheon Sangmu (draft) | 2021 | K League 2 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2022 | K League 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| St Mirren (loan) | 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Hibernian (loan) | 2024–25 | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Nantes | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 105 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 3 | ||
- ^ Includes Korean FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- ^ Includes Scottish League Cup
Honours
[edit]Gimcheon Sangmu
References
[edit]- ^ 유스부터 10년을 기다린 권혁규 “150번은 돌려봤을걸요?” [데뷔GOAL] (in Korean). Goal. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ [INTERVIEW] 부산의 미래 권혁규, “꿈을 펼칠 시간이 왔다” (in Korean). Busan IPark. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ [Inter뷰] 'K리그2 최초 고3 선수' 부산 권혁규, "롤모델은 박종우, 월급은 적금". Nate (in Korean). InterFootball. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ 조규성·정승현 ‘3월 입대’한다, K리거 14인 상무 최종합격 (in Korean). Best Eleven. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ a b 김천상무, 두 경기 남기고 K리그2 우승·K리그1 승격 확정!. Nate (in Korean). Xportsnews. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ [부산] “전역을 명받았습니다!” 부산아이파크 미드필더 권혁규 군 전역 복귀 (in Korean). K League. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ '부산의 젊은 MF' 권혁규, '스코틀랜드 명문' 셀틱에서 '러브콜' (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Hyeokkyu Kwon joins Celtic's South Korean contingent as he signs five-year deal". Celtic F.C. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ 부산아이파크 권혁규, 셀틱 간다… "독하게 마음먹고 도전". Naver (in Korean). Busan Ilbo. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
이어 "셀틱에서 가장 잘하는 선수가 돼 독일 분데스리가나 잉글랜드 프리미어리그(EPL) 등 더 높은 곳으로 가도록 하겠다"는 포부도 밝혔다.
- ^ "Celtic's new 'Korean Rodri' admits to using club as stepping stone as he vows to be their "best player"". Squawka. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Why Celtic should look at Kwon Hyeok-kyu's bold comments positively". The Celtic Way. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Kwon Hyeok-kyu: St Mirren sign Celtic midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Celtic's Kwon joins Hibs on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "On-loan Kwon's season ended by injury". BBC Sport. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Hibs boss reveals injured duo will miss Dundee clash". Hibs Observer. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Hyeokkyu Kwon s'engage avec le FC Nantes" (in French). FC Nantes. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ Kwon Hyeok-kyu at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
External links
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