Hayato Inamura’s Celtic spell looks set to end almost as quickly as it began. Reports in Japan say FC Tokyo are advancing talks to arrange a return to the J.League for the left-back.
Japanese outlets report FC Tokyo are pushing for a loan with an option to buy. [Jtra]Kawasaki Frontale are also in the mix, and interest is growing across the league as clubs weigh January options.
For Celtic, that would be a quiet yet telling admission that another summer recruitment call hasn’t worked out.
Inamura arrived in July after a season with Albirex Niigata, choosing to test himself in Europe. He was signed as a developmental left-back, a move framed as one for the future rather than an immediate fix. That idea quickly proved accurate once competitive football began.
Brendan Rodgers judged early that Inamura wasn’t ready to contribute at first-team level. That verdict stalled his Celtic career before it had truly started. Despite the managerial change that followed, Martin O’Neill didn’t redirect the defender’s season, and the situation stayed unresolved.
By the time Wilfried Nancy stepped into the role, Celtic were already firefighting. With results deteriorating and pressure mounting, there was little scope to bed in a new left-back who hadn’t featured much since the season campaign.
Inamura’s situation has become a symbol of a wider problem. Celtic’s summer window felt rushed, poorly sequenced, and short on clear pathways for players signed as projects. Left-backs have been repurposed. Centre-backs have been dragged wide. A natural option has sat unused.
A loan back to Japan, especially with a purchase clause, would let Celtic draw a line under the decision and recover some value. For Inamura, it offers a reset in a league where he is known and trusted.
If FC Tokyo complete the deal, it will be sold as a fresh start. For Celtic, it will be another reminder that the mistakes of the summer continue to shape the present.
