Shin Yamada’s Celtic career appears to be heading towards an early conclusion.
The Japanese forward arrived at Parkhead with promise last summer after making a name for himself with Kawasaki Frontale, the same club that previously supplied Celtic with Reo Hatate.
Less than 12 months later, however, reports suggest he could already be on his way back to Japan.
According to SunSport, Yamada is expected to leave Celtic this summer after failing to establish himself in the first-team picture.
He is expected to return to Japan.
Unfortunately, things never quite clicked at the Hoops.
Yamada made just 12 appearances for Celtic and struggled to make a meaningful impact whenever opportunities came his way, failing to score a single goal.
As competition for places intensified, it quickly became apparent that regular football would be difficult to find.
That led to a January loan move to Germany, where he joined a side battling near the bottom end of Bundesliga 2.
Initially, the move did little to revive his fortunes.
There were periods when he struggled for minutes, endured a lengthy goal drought and even found himself left out of the matchday squad altogether.
At one stage, it looked as though the loan spell might end in disappointment.
To his credit, Yamada responded.
As the season drew towards its conclusion, he forced his way back into contention and scored three goals during the closing weeks of the campaign.
Those performances appear to have reignited interest in his homeland.
A return to Japan now looks increasingly likely as all parties assess the next step.
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