Hayato Inamura was in action for the first time for Celtic on Tuesday evening.
Celtic beat Cork City 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in Ireland, with the players getting another win under their belts, but most importantly, building up their fitness for the new 2025/26 season.
This was summer signing Hayato Inamura’s unofficial debut, as the Celtic Park faithful in Ireland got a taste of their new player and what he is like.
The former Albirex Niigata star is a natural left-sided centre-back, but he can also operate at fullback, and that’s exactly what he did against Cork.
Kenny Cunningham praises Hayato Inamura as Celtic beat Cork in a pre-season friendly
Celtic’s pre-season game against Cork was shown live on Premier Sports, as former Republic of Ireland international Kenny Cunningham was on co-commentary duty.
Cunningham noted the quality Inamura showed when getting forward, and how he liked to ‘impose himself’ on the match.
Like the majority of the Celtic players who started the match, the Japan star played 45 minutes before being subbed off, and he certainly got pass marks.
“You can see Inamura getting himself involved again on this left-hand side,” said Cunningham. “Getting himself high up that pitch into that 18-yard box.
“You have just seen him flash that ball across the six-yard box, like he did early on, almost got Johnny Kenny in. Again, tried that little cutback; you always see that in the modern game. Always looking for that cutback towards the penalty spot.
“But certainly, Inamura, to be fair to him, he has looked to get forward and impose himself on the game. It has been a decent half for him.”
What will Celtic do with Inamura?
Remember, this is a guy who has only been playing professional football for a few years, so it’s not like he has vast amounts of experience under his belt.
That’s why there has been talk of Celtic loaning out Inamura, but that won’t happen if he continues to perform like he did against Cork.
But that’s going to be one of the easier tests for the Japan star, and with Celtic having the likes of Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle United coming up on their pre-season tour, those answers will arrive pretty quickly.
- Estrela da Amadora vs Celtic, July 12
- Sporting CP vs Celtic, July 16
- Celtic vs Newcastle United, July 19
- Ajax vs Celtic, July 24
- Como Cup Third Place Play-Off, July 26
- Como Cup final, July 27
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