Celtic’s latest January recruit Tomoki Iwata has revealed what his preferred position would be at the Scottish champions.
The 25-year-old has joined the league leaders on-loan for the rest of the season with it being all but likely that he will secure a permanent move to the club during the summer window.
He is a player that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou knows very well from his time in Japanese football as he brought him to Yokohama F Marinos before making the switch to Glasgow.
It is likely that Iwata would have been in the door sooner had the Hoops not taken forward Daizen Maeda from the club last January.
The Hoops boss expects Iwata to make a huge impact in the team from now until the end of the season and is looking forward to being reunited on the training pitch at Lennoxtown.
Iwata was named the MVP in the J-League last season having won the league at Yokohama and Celtic fans should be excited for the qualities which he will add to the team as another player who has great flexibility across the park.
He can play in a number of positions but did admit that he believes he is suited to playing the deeper role in midfield.
“My focus will be on how I can express the football of the manager on the pitch. I feel grateful, thanks to him (Postecoglou) for picking me and playing me as a No.6 so I managed to find a new version of myself and another possibility for myself,” said Iwata as quoted by the Daily Record.
“I feel very grateful for him. I would like to play as a No.6 but the most important thing is the victory of the team, so that is independent from which position I play.” Coming to a new country, with a different culture and another style, can be daunting.”
The new Bitton 🤪