Former Celtic attacker Kris Commons has made a bold transfer prediction after the Hoops targeted Japan for three new signings, saying big European clubs with deep pockets could look to the likes of Kyogo in the future.
Commons also compared Celtic to two European heavyweights, as reflected on some transfer dealings. Under Ange Postecoglou, Celtic have signed 4 J-League talents, from Kyogo Furuhashi in the summer, to Maeda, Ideguchi and Hatate this week. It’s a concerted effort to snare talent from an undervalued market, despite Japan’s very decent international standing.
Kyogo, for example, was signed for just £4.5m, but has made an incredible impact for Celtic.
In his Daily Mail column, Commons was impressed, and threw some lofty comparisons around. The 5x Scottish Premiership winner wrote [Scottish Daily Mail, print edition 03/01/22 p70]: “It can be hugely beneficial and profitable for a club to devote a lot of their scouting resources into one specific country or region.
“Shakhtar Donetsk have almost turned it into an art form over the past 20 years, by the way in which they continually sign talented young Brazilians, develop them, and then sell them on for huge profit.
“No one is asking Celtic to sign half-a-dozen young Brazilians every other year. If they can set up the right supply lines and get even just two or three talented Japanese boys every so often, it could prove to be massively beneficial. Just over ten years ago, Borussia Dortmund paid around £250,000 for a young lad by the name of Shinji Kagawa from Cerezo Osaka.
“In the space of just two seasons, Kagawa had helped Dortmund win back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp and established himself as one of the most gifted midfielders in Europe.
“It might not be too long until Celtic are fielding similar bigmoney [sic] bids for Kyogo. That’s the kind of talent available in the Far East if you know where to look.”
Kris Commons is right; Celtic are finding big talents in a particular market, but let’s not talk of selling them yet!
In a round-about way, I agree with Kris Commons here, in terms of cornering a particular market. There’s value to be had, as has been made abundantly clear already.
If Maeda, Hatate or Ideguchi can have half the impact of Kyogo this season, then it’s money well spent. And even for a club like Celtic, it’s not a huge amount of finances either.
Whether the Shakhtar Donetsk comparison is a valid one is your call to make. And Kagawa was an exceptional talent, whose performances merited a massive move. He got that, to Manchester United [BBC]. Although it didn’t work out entirely.
Still, it’s an interesting train of thought. Buying talents, developing them and selling them on has been something of a model for Celtic over the last decade. There are obvious, famous examples of that.
But what’s more exciting, at least short-term, is what these players can do now. If they make a sizeable impression at Celtic and we can turn a profit in a few years, then that’s great. But for now, there is no focus other than winning our title back and improving.
That’s the job for the immediate future. And with the squad stretched going into the break, the three signings made thus far are excellent.
Kris Commons may prove right about Celtic in the future. For now, though, it’s just about big performances and winning games. The value is to worry about in the future.
Read more: SFA man wowed by Celtic player’s transformation under Ange; makes Brian Clough comparison
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