Celtic midfielder, Tomoki Iwata has revealed that he intends to use the Japan Tour to showcase his skills to stake a claim in the Hoops midfield for the new season ahead.
The Japanese midfielder was utilised as a make-shift right back in yesterday’s friendly against Yokohama F Marinos and equipped himself very well.
Although he has played that position before for Yokohama, it’s the first time he has been used as a fullback for Celtic since joining the club in January.
However, although Iwata says that he just wants to be involved more in games, he has said he intends to use the Japan Tour to try and impress Brendan Rodgers to stake a claim in Celtic’s first team.
Speaking about his performance yesterday, Iwata said [Hochi News], “I was able to make some good decisions as I remembered, but I still need to improve my technique and physical fitness.
“I want to play in midfield but at the same time, I think that’s my strength. I can play in the midfield or with the centre-backs.
“I want to use this chance to show that I can do more. The first thing I want to do is to play in games.” [translated by Deep L]
And it’s fair to say that Iwata has already impressed Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers. 67 Hail Hail told yesterday how the Hoops gaffer singled out Iwata for his performance and said that the make-shift full-back was ‘excellent’ despite the team’s 6-4 defeat.
The Celtic midfielder joined the club permanently this summer after making his loan move to Glasgow permanent. The Celtic support have seen glimpses of the talent that saw him named as the J League’s MVP last season.
If we get to see more of what we witnessed yesterday, then Iwata looks like he could be a very exciting player for us in the seasons ahead.
In other news, Xavier Mbuyamba high on Celtic’s transfer list; Hoops face competition for Dutch defender
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