Celtic underwent a summer of change throughout the transfer window as they lost their manager and made a host of new signings to bolster the squad.
Ange Postecoglou was poached by Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond reacted to that with a swoop for Brendan Rodgers, who is now in his second spell at Parkhead.
The Hoops were also hit by the sale of star forward Jota to Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ittihad for a reported £25m and the retirement of central midfielder Aaron Mooy.
Appearances
83
Goals
28
Assists
26
Trophies
5
Rodgers was then backed by the board as they allowed him to make nine signings; including Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki, Paulo Bernardo, Nat Phillips, Odin Thiago Holm, Luis Palma, Hyun-jun Yang, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, and Marco Tilio.
The Northern Irish head coach also sanctioned a number of departures, on loan and permanent deals, from Paradise ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
One player who he may already be regretting his decision on is Montenegro international Sead Haksabanovic, who has been in fine form for Stoke City in the Championship and could have been a better option than Yang out wide.
Why was Haksabanovic loaned out?
Football Insider reported that the talented forward pushed for his loan move to the Potters due to his lack of game time at the start of the season.
The outlet claimed that the player felt he was getting mixed messages from the Hoops as they told him that he would be a key part of the squad but that was not reflected in his minutes on the pitch.
He played 45 minutes across two substitute appearances, in the Scottish Premiership and League Cup combined, at the start of the current campaign and decided that it was best for him to move on.
How much did Celtic pay for Haksabanovic?
The Bhoys reportedly splashed out a fee of £1.75m to sign the ex-West Ham prospect from Rubin Kazan for Ange Postecoglou ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
However, he failed to nail down a regular place in the starting XI over the course of the season. Haksabanovic only started eight Premiership games for the Australian head coach, with a further 18 appearances off the bench.
The 24-year-old gem was still able to showcase his attacking talent in spite of his limited time on the pitch with five goals and six 'big chances' created from a wide position, along with zero 'big chances' missed, as per Sofascore.
He also registered two assists in five SFA Cup outings and played three League Cup games for the Hoops on their way to a domestic treble.
Despite catching the eye in the few minutes that Postecoglou afforded him, Rodgers was seemingly unwilling to provide him with a chance to prove his worth with more time on the pitch, which led to his move to Stoke on loan before the end of the summer transfer window.
How many chances has Haksabanovic created for Stoke?
The 5 foot 9 ace, who was dubbed a "little diamond" by former coach Jan Jonsson, has enjoyed a terrific start to life with the Potters as he has created eight chances in four Championship matches so far.
He has hit the ground running in England with one goal and one assist in three league starts for Alex Neil's side since his temporary move from the Hoops.
His dribbling ability has also been on full display as the former Malaga loanee has completed 1.8 dribbles per game, which is more than any of his teammates have managed, with an outstanding success rate of 88%.
Haksabanovic has earned an exceptional Sofascore rating of 7.33 for his performances for Stoke.
This is the highest score within his current team's squad and would place him sixth within the Celtic team, based on their Premiership ratings this season, and above the likes of Callum McGregor and David Turnbull.
These statistics suggest that Rodgers had a mare with his decision to move the skilful winger on this summer as he could have been an excellent option for the Northern Irish coach if he had been given an opportunity to impress.
Instead, Yang was brought in to bolster the club's wide options and has not enjoyed as much success at Parkhead as Haksabanovic has in England this season.
How many assists has Yang managed this season?
The 21-year-old forward has assisted one goal in eight appearances for the Hoops since his move to the club from Gangwon FC over the summer transfer window.
He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.82 across six Premiership outings, which has included three starts, and contributed with zero goals and one assist so far.
The South Korean gem has created four chances for his teammates in that time and this means that he has made 0.7 key passes per game on average, whereas Haksabanovic has made two per match for Stoke.
Yang has also struggled to make an impact in transition with 0.7 dribbles per outing at a dismal success rate of 33%. This suggests that opposition defenders are finding it far too easy to take the ball off him when the young ace is attempting to progress up the pitch.
His slow start to life in Scotland should not come as a huge surprise as the 21-year-old's form for Gangwon this year was less-than-impressive.
He scored one goal and provided one assist in 20 K League 1 matches throughout 2023 before his switch to Celtic, which earned him a Sofascore rating of 6.66.
This means that Yang has contributed with one goal and two assists in his last 28 league matches throughout this year, to go along with his struggles when it comes to creating chances and dribbling past opponents.
Haksabanovic, on the other hand, has scored six goals and assisted two in 30 games, and 11 starts, for Stoke and Celtic in the league since the start of last season.
Therefore, Rodgers made a big blunder in the summer by not offering the Montenegro international the opportunity to start some matches in order to see how he would fare.
His performances for the Potters, and his contributions in limited minutes for the Hoops last term, suggest that the quality was there for him to make a big impact at the top end of the pitch, particularly in comparison to Yang and his struggles so far.