Shin Yamada’s arrival at Celtic last weekend may not have set pulses racing across the fanbase, but the club’s track record with Japanese forwards means there’s quiet hope he could follow a familiar path to success.
Signed for a reported fee of around £1.7 million, the 25-year-old striker is the latest to make the move from Japan to Parkhead, joining a list that includes Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda – both forwards signed for modest sums and both proving to be key players in recent years.
Yamada was originally named on the bench for Celtic’s clash with Ajax on Thursday night in the Football On The Lake tournament, but was later removed from the squad after it emerged he hadn’t been registered in time for the UEFA-controlled fixture.
Fans will now look to Saturday night’s match against Al-Ahli for a first glimpse of the new recruit.
Speaking on Go Radio, former Aberdeen and Rangers full-back Richard Foster urged fans to look beyond the price tag, pointing to Celtic’s history of value buys.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? Celtic signed Maeda for a relatively modest fee—nowhere near the £9 million being mentioned recently—and he turned out to be a huge success. The same goes for Kyogo,” said Foster.
“Then you had Idah, who had a brilliant loan spell but hasn’t quite had the same impact since signing permanently. Now they’ve signed Shin Yamada for around £1.73 million. The question is: can he be another Kyogo or Maeda? Can he light up the Scottish game the way those two did without breaking the bank?”
“Celtic have a great track record of unearthing talent at good value. The one that still blows my mind is Larsson—signed for just over £100,000. Historically, they’ve done it time and time again, and you hope this is another example of that. If he comes in and performs like Kyogo did, they could be looking at selling him on for £10–15 million down the line.”
With Brendan Rodgers keen to bolster his attacking options, and fans keen to see what the young forward can offer, Saturday’s match could offer an early insight into whether Yamada has the tools to make his mark in Glasgow.
