Tomoki Iwata could be described as the one that got away at Celtic.
The Japanese midfielder had been J League player of the year before he joined up at Parkhead and the excitement in Glasgow was there.
The 27-year-old unfortunately didn’t quite hit the heights expected of him under Ange Postecoglou or Brendan Rodgers and he would eventually depart on deadline day.
The criticism of his struggles in Scotland could be attributed to a lack of first-team opportunities provided to him by either manager as, when he did feature, he looked solid.
Tomoki Iwata scored a terrific volley for Birmingham City vs Bolton Wanderers
But his move to Birmingham City in late August of this year has just gone to show there always was a player there.
Iwata has four goals in nine appearances for the Blues since they fell into League One in the EFL and he has also provided an assist in those outings.
Most of his strikes have come from outside the area and received applause from supporters as well as his delighted teammates.
His latest effort coming last night in a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in particular was a peach and had the home fans ready to build a statue of their new hero.
A cross into the area was headed away by the Bolton defender only to fall to Iwata at the edge of the box.
Rather than power the strike high and wide, Iwata deftly guided it with the inside of his left-boot into the corner of the net with goalkeeper Luke Southwood with no chance.
Iwata left Celtic for the EFL League One side on deadline day
It was a cracking finish and even had Iwata’s teammates with their head in their hands in disbelief at what their pal had just conjured up.
Keshi Anderson in particular could hardly believe what he’d just seen as Sky Sports’ cameras in attendance picked up the stunner on their live broadcast.
Iwata made 42 appearances in all competitions for Celtic since he joined in 2023.
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