BREAKING: Nantes Close in on Kwon Hyeok-kyu and Set to Land Hong Hyun-seok on Loan

2025-07-23     HAN, June
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 28: Mouzinho de Lima #10 of Timor-Leste competes for the ball against Kwon Hyeokkyu #6 of South Korea during the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifier at Jalan Besar Stadium on October 28, 2021 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

FC Nantes are set to bolster their midfield ranks with a double capture from South Korea, as Kwon Hyeok-kyu nears a permanent move from Celtic and Hong Hyun-seok prepares for a loan switch from Mainz.

According to reports from Ouest-France and L’Équipe, Ligue 1 side FC Nantes are on the verge of completing the signing of Celtic midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu. The 24-year-old South Korean international is expected to join on a permanent deal, signing a three-year contract after undergoing a medical in the coming hours.

Kwon, a defensive midfielder by trade, spent last season on loan at Hibernian FC in the Scottish Premiership, where he featured in 21 matches. With Nantes having lost both Pedro Chirivella to Panathinaikos and Douglas Augusto to FK Krasnodar earlier this summer, Kwon’s arrival is seen as a crucial addition to a midfield lacking depth behind veteran Francis Coquelin.

But the Canaries are not stopping there.

BOCHUM, GERMANY - MAY 10: Hyunseok Hong of 1. FSV Mainz 05 runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between VfL Bochum 1848 and 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Vonovia Ruhrstadion on May 10, 2025 in Bochum, Germany. (Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)

 

The club is also on the brink of securing a loan deal—with an option to buy—for 26-year-old attacking midfielder Hong Hyun-seok from Bundesliga outfit Mainz. Negotiations for the former KAA Gent playmaker have been ongoing for several weeks. Hong made 23 Bundesliga appearances last season and would offer a more forward-thinking dimension to the Nantes midfield.

If both deals are completed as expected, Kwon will become Nantes’ fourth summer signing after goalkeeper Alexis Mirbach, defender Uroš Radaković, and forwards Youssef El-Arabi and Chidozie Awaziem. Hong, meanwhile, would be the fifth new face—and the second South Korean international to arrive within days.

It marks a bold new strategy for Nantes, blending experience with international pedigree in an effort to rebuild their squad ahead of the 2025/26 Ligue 1 campaign.

The East Asian revolution may just be beginning in La Beaujoire.