Celtic’s January business started extremely early, signing the trio of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi.
The three players have now been integrated within the squad and appear to be ready to go ahead of Monday evening’s Scottish Premiership return, thanks to their early arrivals in the transfer window.
With Postecoglou’s knowledge of the J-League, it came as no surprise to see the 56-year old target the Japanese market and speaking to the media; the former Socceroos boss has his reasons as to why this window was the perfect opportunity to make his move.
The Celtic boss also backed his January moves, insisting he hasn’t just brought in four Japanese players over his time as manager so far, but he has brought in four quality footballers and believes they can have the impact needed in his side.
“We have to be careful about just saying ‘four Japanese players’,” he said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“These are four individuals who are totally different people. And they’re totally different types of players too.
“It’s a bit lazy for us all to say; I’ve just brought in four Japanese. I’ve brought in four quality players who I think can add to what we’re doing here.
“They have different personalities, and they’ve had different career paths so far. They each will offer something different to the club.
“The reason I went down this road is twofold. One, I have great knowledge of that market in that part of the world because it’s where I’ve worked.
“And two, it’s ideal for the January market because their season finishes in December.
“I knew this after the summer window, and that’s when we started working on it. If we want to get players in the January window, it’s a good part of the world to do business in.
“But don’t assume we’ve just brought in ‘four Japanese players’. We’ve brought in four top-quality players who can all contribute to our club.”
For Celtic fans, Postecoglou doesn’t need to explain the reasoning behind his transfer moves this window after his early success with players from the same league in the summer.
However, it is great to see Ange backing his new additions to the squad and talking up their qualities rather than where they came from within the same league.
Ultimately, the three new additions will add some much-needed quality in depth that Postecoglou’s side will need in the push to win back the Scottish Premiership title.
