Daizen Maeda has given a big thumbs up to Celtic’s move for compatriot Tomoki Iwata, believing that he can hit the ground running at the Bhoys.
Maeda is a former teammate of Iwata at Yokohama F.Marinos and made a similar move to Glasgow this time last year. So he’s better placed than anyone to pass comment on Celtic’s latest transfer.
Iwata arrived in Scotland this weekend and was unveiled in front of the home support at half-time yesterday, immediately showing confidence by taking the microphone and addressing fans in English.
The Celtic winger thinks he can make an immediate impression, telling The Scottish Mail on Sunday [08/01 print edition, page 115]: “Tomoki is always smiling. His smile is special. Because of that and because he’s a friendly guy, he makes friends with everyone.
“Tomoki and I were together in Yokohama and had a good relationship. For that reason, I was pleased there was a possibility for him to come to Celtic. I would say the style of football at Marinos is very similar to Celtic, so in terms of the transition my feeling is Tomoki should be ready to play straight away.
“Normally, the Best Player of the Year award in Japan goes to an attacker. Tomoki was used in a more defensive role by Marinos but he has still come out on top of all the players in the J league. That was a big honour for him.”
Ange Postecoglou’s signings from the J-League have been largely impressive to date and the signs are strong that Iwata can come in and make an impact.
The fact he was considered to be one of the best players in the division just like Kyogo Furuhashi and Maeda before him bodes well.
Fans will be eager to see him in action over the coming weeks as the manager builds a squad with even stonger depth.
In other news, Report: Celtic make their move for impressive forward with ruthless timing.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
