Hearts boss Robbie Neilson has credited Celtic’s success in the transfer market as a factor in helping other SPFL clubs make moves for J-League players.
Ange Postecoglou was the first of seven recent arrivals from the J-League at Parkhead after becoming Hoops boss in the summer of 2021.
The 57-year-old has used his knowledge of the league to his advantage after spending around three years in charge at Yokohama F Marinos.
The Bhoys have gone on to sign six Japanese players, with Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi all arriving during Postecoglou’s first season in charge.
More recently, in the January transfer window, the Celtic manager has gone on to add Yuki Kobayashi (Vissel Kobe) and Tomoki Iwata (Yokohama F Marinos) to his squad.
After seeing some of the success that has come out of Celtic’s recruitment from the J-League, other clubs in the SPFL appear to be delving into the market.
Earlier this week, Hearts completed the signing of Vissel Kobe winger Yutaro Oda and Motherwell are reportedly chasing Riku Danzaki.
Speaking after securing the signing of the Japanese under-21 international, Hearts manager Robbie Neilson credited Celtic’s success in the J-League market as a factor which has led other SPFL clubs to make moves.
The Tynecastle boss also believes that seeing the success that players such as Kyogo and Reo Hatate can have in Scotland may help entice Japanese players to this country.
He said [The Scotsman]: “Potentially, when you go into a market you don’t really know, it’s always good to measure it against players who have come over.
“You see, the majority of the ones at Celtic have done very well; that tells us it’s a league that can compete here as well.
“And, in Japan, I’m pretty sure they will see the Celtic players and have ambition to get to Europe. That probably helped with us bringing him [Yutaro Oda] in.
“It’s a market that offers value for money. It’s a very good level with good players, some who we think we have an opportunity to get because of the value in them. A lot of them are very keen to come to Europe as well. It’s very similar to Australia.”
SPFL club starting to make moves in untouched transfer markets.
With the ever-rising financial gap between Scottish clubs and leagues across Europe, it is crucially important that teams in this country try to find new and unique ways to bridge it.
One that appears to be working well for Celtic, is shopping in more untouched markets, such as the J-League. We have also seen the Bhoys shop in the MLS and South American leagues too in recent times.
To Hearts’ credit, they have already started to form a similar strategy and have had success shopping in Australia over the last few years.
Of course, shopping in the J-League isn’t just exclusive to Celtic, and it is positive from a Scottish Football perspective that we are starting to see clubs make some smart transfer moves.
It should certainly be interesting to see if more teams in this country try to go down different avenues when looking for new players to bring in.
There is plenty of footballing talent out there, in all corners of the globe, and teams are sure to find some quality signings in more untouched transfer markets.
In other news, David Turnbull shows off impressive mementos from Celtic vs Real Madrid clashes.
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