Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has given his thoughts after Celtic completed the signing of Japanese central defender Yuki Kobayashi.
The former Socceroos boss has a strong connection with Japan having spent three successful years at Yokohama F. Marinos where he guided them to their first league title in 15 years.
Upon making the move to Glasgow last summer, he swiftly moved to sign Japanese international Kyogo Furuhashi who he had been impressed by and believed could easily make the switch to Scottish football.
Postecoglou once again returned to the J-League during the January window to bring in three more recruits including Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi who played a vital role in helping achieve league success during Postecoglou’s first season in charge.
REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Celtic currently have four centre backs at the club with Moritz Jenz having signed on a season-long loan deal during the summer.
It is unknown where the former Vissel Kobe defender will fit into Postecoglou’s plans but he is a top talent and is edging towards his first senior call up.
Postecoglou is delighted to get the deal done and many Celtic fans will hope that there is other additions to come during this window.
“We’re really pleased. Yuki is someone that we’ve been following for a while and it was a great opportunity to bring him in. He’s a left-sided centre-back, and they’re hard to find,” said Ange Postecoglou speaking to the Celtic FC website.
“He’s still young but he’s already had three of four years of senior experience and he’s really keen to come across and test himself in Europe.
“I think we saw last year that bringing in guys nice and early gives us the opportunity to bed them in, in that six-month period of the second half of the season, and we’re really looking forward to having him as part of the group.
Soccer Football – Champions League – Group F – Real Madrid v Celtic – Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain – November 2, 2022 Celtic manager Ange Postecoglu applauds fans after the match REUTERS/Susana Vera
“He’s at a really good age where he’s already had some great experience but with great potential ahead of him.
“He’s a good young man who wants to have a real crack at it here in Europe and for us it’s a great opportunity to invest in a young player again.”
Having already moulded some individuals into top players, Postecoglou will likely do the same with Kobayashi and it will be exciting to see him in green and white hoops.
