Former Celtic midfielder Tomoki Iwata joined Celtic to much excitement, coming after the likes of Kyogo, Daizen Maeda, and Reo Hatate. Iwata achieved something that none of the trio could: he won the J-League Player of the Year (MVP).

However, Iwata’s time at Celtic wouldn’t go to plan. Joining Celtic in December 2022 on loan with an obligatory option to buy in the summer of 2023 for around £830,000, Iwata made 42 appearances in 18 months at Celtic.

He would fail to displace Hoops skipper Callum McGregor. When Iwata did play, however, he would hardly put a foot wrong and looked more than competent, offering something Celtic have lacked this season in his absence.

Iwata would make the bold decision to cut his Celtic career short in the summer, joining League One Birmingham to join  former Hoops coach Chris Davies for a reported fee of £880,000, a small profit for Celtic.

It was clear that Iwata was looking to gain experience in a new environment where he would be given consistent starts.

With Birmingham last night securing promotion back to the Championship, Iwata has played a huge role in that promotion, showing the Celtic support exactly what they are missing with a number of long-range goals, including one against Newcastle United in the FA Cup fourth round.

Iwata has proven himself in League One and looks to be a real contender for Player of the Year in the English third tier, showing all the qualities that you would expect from a Celtic holding midfielder—being able to get forward and contribute with goals and assists.

It’s great to see him doing so well alongside Davies, but it begs the question of why he wasn’t given more opportunities in Glasgow. At times in recent months, Celtic have lacked the added solidity that Iwata would have brought alongside Callum McGregor, with Arne Engels failing to impress recently. The Hoops could have used Iwata to give the Celtic skipper more freedom going forward.