Celtic are one of three clubs to have submitted an offer for Cho Gue-sung in the January transfer window.

What's the latest?

That's according to Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian transfer insider revealing in a recent post on Twitter that Ange Postecoglou's side have launched a €3m (£2.6m) bid for the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors centre-forward this month, with this proposal also including a 50% sell-on clause on a future sale of up to €6m (£5.3m).

However, MLS outfit Minnesota United are also believed to have submitted an offer of €5m (£4.4m) with a 30% sell-on clause, while Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 are also said to have made a proposal in the region of €3m (£2.6) - with discussions ongoing as to which club the South Korea international would most like to join.

In his tweet, the journalist said: "South Korea's Cho Gue-Sung has now three proposals: Celtic have made €3m bid with 50% on future sale up to €6m, while Minnesota offer €5m plus 30% on future sale. Mainz have also made a proposal close to €3m. Discussions are taking place to decide next club."

"Real handful"

With fellow Italian journalist Gianluca DiMarzio recently reporting that Serie A side UC Sampdoria have reached an 'agreement' with Giorgos Giakoumakis ahead of a potential exit from Parkhead this winter, coupled with the remarkable form Cho was in over the course of 2022, it is not difficult to understand why Postecoglou would be keen on a move for the Korean striker.

Indeed, over his 31 K League 1 fixtures last year, the £2.2m-rated hitman was sensational in the final third, scoring 17 goals, providing five assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 3.3 shots - 1.5 of which hit the target - making 1.2 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the 24-year-old average a quite breathtaking Sofascore match rating of 7.33, not only ranking him as Jeonbuk's best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the South Korean top flight as a whole last time out.

For comparison, over Giakoumakis' 21 Premiership appearances in 2021/22, the £4.4m-rated talent scored 13 goals, registered one assist and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.0 shots - one of which hit the target - making 0.5 key passes and completing 0.2 dribbles per match.

These metrics saw the 28-year-old average an impressive Sofascore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as Postecoglou's 16th-best player in the top flight of Scottish football last time out.

Cho also caught the eye over his four appearances at the Qatar World Cup last year, bagging two goals and taking an average of 2.3 shots - 1.3 of which hit the target - per game - with these metrics seeing the centre-forward average an extraordinary Sofascore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as South Korea's second-best player at the tournament.

Rather unsurprisingly, these returns saw the 20-cap international earn a considerable amount of praise, with journalist Pete O'Rourke taking the time to discuss the striker in an interview with GIVEMESPORT back in December:

"He's looked good for South Korea, scored a couple of goals against Ghana. He's a physical player as well, he can score goals from aerial areas, and I think he's definitely proven to be a real handful for defenders."

As such, with Cho very much looking to be a more complete forward than Giakoumakis in the final third, coupled with the South Korean sensation being four years the Greece international's junior, it would indeed appear as if the 24-year-old would represent something of an upgrade on the 28-year-old - leading us to believe that Celtic must do all they can to land Cho this winter.