Celtic are reportedly interested in J League defender Hayato Inamura.
The 23-year-old defender has apparently caught the eye of Brendan Rodgers as the Celtic manager looks to bring in cover for Kieran Tierney.
Celtic unveiled Tierney last week, and with Greg Taylor widely expected to make his Parkhead exit imminently, Rodgers desperately needs cover on that left side of the defensive four.
And it appears that Inamura has emerged as a ‘surprise’ transfer target as reports suggest Celtic could be shopping in the J League once again.
Celtic ‘working on a surprise move’ for Albirex Niigata’s Hayato Inamura
Hayato Inamura is predominantly a left-sided central-defender who can also play at left-back. And Stephen McGowan reckons Celtic are looking to bring him to the east end of Glasgow.
McGowan writes in The Herald, “Celtic are working on a surprise move for Japanese defender Hayato Inamura.
“Currently playing for Albirex Niigata the 23-year-old primarily plays as a left-sided centre-back but can also provide cover at full-back.”
Albirex Niigata are currently struggling in the J League so why are Celtic targeting a defender who is part of a relegation-threatened J League side?
Hayato Inamura’s top three J League stats make Celtic interest confusing
Being a central defender in a struggling team in the J League, Celtic fans would assume that Inamura’s top three stats would be in the defensive realm, right?
Apparently not. Here are Inamura’s complete stats from the J League’s official website including his surprise top three in bold:
| Hayato Inamura J League stats | Total |
| Average number of touches (6th in J League) | 79.4 |
| Average number of passes per game | 12.1 |
| Average number of passes in own half per game (3rd in J League) | 59.5% |
| Average number of long passes per game (18th in J League) | 11.6 |
| Long pass success rate | 45.3% |
| Assists | 0 |
| Average number of crosses per game | 0.3 |
| Average number of chances created per game | 0.3 |
| Average number of tackles per game | 1.8 |
| Air duel win rate | 59% |
| Average interceptions per game | 0.1 |
| Tackle success rate | 85.7% |
Those stats don’t scream Celtic defender to me and it appears that as cover for Tierney, Celtic are very much looking at a project player.
If that is the case, sure there is a player currently in the Celtic Academy or out on loan like Matthew Anderson who could do just as well as Inamura?
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