Hearts January signing reveals class way Celtic stars have helped him settle into Scotland

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Hearts January signing Yutaro Oda has revealed how three members of Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic squad attempt to help him settle into life in Scotland.

The 21-year-old joined the 3rd place Scottish Premiership side last month as the Jambos built their squad for the second half of the campaign.

Oda arrived in Edinburgh from boyhood club Vissel Kobe; a club whose name has become very familiar in Scottish Football over the past 18 months.

Celtic supporters in particular, will be aware of Vissel, having signed both Kyogo Furuhashi and Yuki Kobayashi from the J-League club.

The arrival of Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead in the summer of 2021 was the first of several additions arriving in Scotland from Japan.

The Hoops have made six signings from the Japanese top flight. Whilst both Motherwell and Hearts made moves for Japanese natives in the January window.

Speaking in a recent interview, Hearts recruit Yutaro Oda revealed that three members of the Celtic squad travelled to Edinburgh to help the forward settle in.

Both Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata, who only arrived in Glasgow last month, were joined by Reo Hatate as they headed to the capital to meet up with Oda at a Japanese restaurant.

The Japan youth international disclosed how all three helped him start getting to grips with life in Scotland as he gears up for life as a Hearts player.

He said [Edinburgh Evening News]: “Of course, I knew Hearts before I signed because [Ryotaro] Meshino was here. That’s why I knew about the club. There are so many Japanese players playing in Scotland, especially in Glasgow, so I knew about the club and the league.”

Oda continued: “(Yuki) Kobayashi played with me since we were in junior high school, so I know him.

“They all came to Edinburgh, and we went to a Japanese restaurant. They are senior to me, so they taught me a lot of things about Scotland.

“I feel people are speaking English so fast. I can’t understand. The Scottish accent is so strong, but first of all, I have to understand what English is.”

Classy gesture from Celtic stars as new arrivals look to settle into life in Scotland.

It is a classy gesture from the Celtic players to head through to the capital and help the Hearts January signing try to settle in a new city.

It is also easy to forget that both Kobayashi and Iwata have also just arrived in the country. So, I am sure spending some time with another fellow countryman will have done the world of good.

Reo Hatate has been in Scotland a little longer than his two Celtic teammates and Oda, so it would have been up to him to help the three Japanese players settle in, as he did around 12 months ago.

You would imagine having fellow countrymen and familiar faces from old clubs would help massively in adjusting to a new way of life halfway across the globe.

Despite the divide between Scottish Premiership clubs, it is great to see players coming together and helping others out.

I am sure they will be looking forward to a double-header of fixtures coming up in March after the Bhoys were drawn to take on the Jambos in the Scottish Cup next month!

In other news, Moritz Jenz discusses the main reason behind Celtic January exit