Andy Halliday has strangely shared that he’s been hearing good things about Celtic midfielder Tomoki Iwata.
The 26-year-old has slowly been introduced into the fold after joining from Yokohama F. Marinos in January.
Iwata had to wait around three months for his first Celtic start, but has quietly grown into an important player, with many wanting to see him in Ange Postecoglou‘s team against Rangers on Sunday.
Current Hearts man Andy Halliday brought Iwata up unprompted on the latest Open Goal show. (28:40 onwards)
“I’ve heard through the grape vine that the boy Iwata is a joke,” he said.
“I’m not telling you [who the source is]. It’s a connection.
“In training he’s supposed to be a joke.”
It’s surprising, given Halliday’s Rangers connections, that he’d have the scoop on who is training well at Lennoxtown. Or even choose to bring it up. But here we are.
Iwata has looked promising so far, and Ange Postecoglou spoke highly of him just a few days ago.
“If you ask the lads I think they’ll all tell you the same thing,” Ange said. “He’s just an unbelievable trainer and he is unbelievable in the gym.
“He does everything right, which I knew he would, but he’s also a quality player and I think he brings something different to our midfield. He’s a little bit of a hybrid.”
Whether Iwata starts on Sunday could be determined by whether Reo Hatate is fit or not.
Our starting midfield was a little off it in the last derby, and arguably only calmed down when Iwata was introduced after an hour.
Sunday could be his first major start as a Celtic player.
In other news, Hajime Moriyasu appears to have overlooked Celtic’s Japanese stars once again
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