Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton believes Ange Postecoglou has earned the trust to make the three early additions from the J-League, as he reacted to the Hoops statement of intent in the January window.
The BT Sport pundit praised Postecoglou for his business in earlier windows as Celtic manager so far, with Kyogo Furuhashi being one of the significant successes in his new-look side.
Writing in his column for the Daily Record, with that in that, Sutton insists that Ange has earned the trust to make the moves for three of Kyogo’s countrymen in Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi.
The Englishman also reminded fans to remain cautious, with players taking different times to settle into the club. However, he also believes adding this level of depth could help this Celtic side mount a genuine title challenge.
“Ange Postecoglou has got the ball rolling quickly in the January transfer window with the treble signings of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi.
“The Celtic manager’s track record so far in the market suggests he can be trusted to get it spot on.
“And, if he does get it right again this month, the once unlikely thought of Postecoglou’s team mounting a serious title challenge in his first year and, even winning it, is distinctly possible.
“Celtic have lacked depth, but that’s not a shock. It was always going to be impossible for the new manager to rebuild the entire squad in just one window last summer.
“The fact he got so many in the door that have turned out to be splendid acquisitions says much for the trained eye he has when it comes to spotting a player.
“Given the success of Kyogo Furuhashi, there will be a natural excitement amongst the supporters that Postecoglou has returned to the J-League market for Maeda, Hatate and Ideguchi.
“Furuhashi has been simply sensational. The ease in which he has settled into life in Glasgow and hit the ground running has been sparkling.
“He’s been an outstanding signing. His touch, movement and finishing is sublime at times, and his countrymen have been set a high bar.
“You have to remember that each individual is different. Not everyone settles as swiftly as Furuhashi has done.
“But if they do and they are of his standard, Postecoglou will have pulled more rabbits from the hat and the prices being mentioned are remarkable.”
Looking at the amount of business Postecoglou completed last summer, it is fair to say that the vast majority of those players have been successful so far, which is remarkable considering how much of a rebuild we underwent.
These three new additions now add some much-needed squad depth and quality in certain areas of the park.
It is a brilliant start to the January window, and long may it continue, with Ange Postecoglou hopefully earning complete trust across the board.
The Sooside Skint Sectarians are bricking it.3 players in and more to come for Celtic. Nobody would want any of their mob except Areeba.They were desperate to play at an empty Parkhead and Pittodrie and now are terrified that Celtic won’t play with a severely weakened side in Feb if our players are called for international duty.Rules are rules,a concept far beyond zombies…..