Charlie Nicholas appears to be waxing lyrical about Ange Postecoglou’s plan to delve into the Japanese market in January.
The J-League has just finished for the season, January is the best time to snap up players from the region and bring them over.
Kyogo and Ange were taking from their J-League clubs mid-season.
As the Hoops hunt for new stars – Ange is turning his attention to the J-League to land some bargains.
Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Osaka midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi have all been linked with the club over the past month.
It remains to be seen if Celtic will bring in all three but Nicholas is delighted at the prospect and the manager’s plans to improve Celtic in an untapped market.
Writing in the print edition Express, he said: “It is hardly a surprise Ange is looking at that market as he knows it well from his time as Yokohama F Marinos boss and also brought in Kyogo Furuhashi, who has made a massive impact already.
“Japanese are starting to make their mark on Europe – but there is still value in a relatively untapped market.
” Celtic had Shunsuke Nakamura in the late Noughties. But he was slightly different as he had already established himself overseas in Italy’s Serie A with Reggina.
“Nakamura was a star and gave Celtic a foothold in Japan. However, they failed to build on that deal and turned to other markets.
“You also know when Asian players come over they’re bang at it. They see themselves as ambassadors for their countries.
“You see many Japanese players make their names with the lesser teams in Italy and Spain before kicking on at bigger clubs.
“There’s no questioning their work rate and commitment. But it can be difficult adapting to that big club mentality. While they might not play well every week, they will grasp Ange’s style and what he expects.
“This trio won’t be expensive. If they do well, Celtic can sell them on at a profit. If they don’t dazzle, the chances are they’ll still make their money back when sold on.
“Ange clearly wants to play with a high energy and Japanese players are renowned for that intensity.
“But they must be better than the players Celtic already have, so it will be interesting to see how they adapt.”
Any signing coming in from the J-League is instantly going to get compared to Kyogo – the striker hit the ground running in Glasgow and has been excellent ever since.
However, he was fully fit and midway through his season. If any lads come in from Japan next month – they will just have had a full season under their belt. It will likely take them a bit more time to get up to speed with things.
Celtic fans welcome Ange’s obvious input to transfer dealings. It’s good to see the Celtic manager taking charge and not leaving recruitment solely to club scouts.
