Kwon Hyeok-kyu
Kwon Hyeok-kyu is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Karlsruher SC and the South Korea national team.
Club career
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. On 16 July 2019, Kwon was promoted to Busan's senior team. On 14 September, he made his professional debut as a starting central midfielder in a K League 2 match against Jeonnam Dragons. 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. He won the K League 2 title as he played as a defensive midfielder for Sangmu that year. On 7 September 2022, he returned to Busan by being discharged from the military service.
Kwon received an offer from Scottish Premiership club Celtic in December 2022, 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. 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. His interview embarrassed Celtic supporters, but there was also a positive view that he was an honest player who set a clear goal.
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. At the two Scottish clubs, he made 29 Premiership appearances, but had a hard time with two injuries.
On 25 July 2025, Kwon signed a three-year contract with Ligue 1 club Nantes. Francisco Calvete, the Nantes performance manager and former Busan fitness coach, recommended him to the club as a replacement for Pedro Chirivella or Douglas Augusto. On 17 August, he made his Ligue 1 debut as a starter in the club's first match against Paris Saint-Germain, which ended in a 1–0 loss. He got opportunities under manager Luís Castro for about half a year, but was excluded from the squad after Castro was sacked for poor results.