Celtic are targeting a winter transfer move for Yokohama F.Marinos standout Tomoki Iwata, The Scottish Daily Mail has reported today. [24/12 print edition, back page]
Journalist Stephen McGowan believes Iwata is the latest name to be pursued by the Bhoys for the upcoming January window, having already completed moves for Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi.
It’s said that Yosuke Ideguchi is being tracked by a number of teams back in his homeland after a difficult year at Celtic and Iwata is the man earmarked to be his replacement.
The 25-year-old midfielder won the J-League MVP player of the year award at the end of their 2022 season after helping Postecoglou’s former club to the league title.
He is represented by the same agency as Celtic star Daizen Maeda, whose move to the Bhoys was completed without a hitch last season.
Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi and Maeda have all performed well following their switch from Japan and while that is far from a guarantee regarding any move for Iwata, Postecoglou’s expertise on this matter has to be trusted.
It would also make sense for Ideguchi to look at other options given his lack of opportunities at the Bhoys. It was always going to be tough for him to find minutes at Celtic but injuries haven’t helped his story and it’s harder than ever to see where he fits in right now.
Iwata’s arrival would also call Oliver Abildgaard’s future at the club into question after a lack of impact on his loan move from Russian side Rubin Kazan.
We know Postecoglou likes to plan in advance, so bringing in Iwata now would undoubtedly be part of his process for building next season’s squad.
Certainly one to watch over the coming days!
In other news, Ange Postecoglou takes satisfaction from the change he noticed in Celtic today.
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