Defence had been viewed as an area of weakness for Celtic going into the 2021/22 campaign. The club had struggled at the back in the previous season. On top of that, Kristoffer Ajer had left and Christopher Jullien remained out injured. Thus, things were not looking good for the Hoops. But it is safe to say that since then, they have made tremendous progress and look like a team transformed defensively.

Major credit must go to Carl Starfelt, who was signed from Rubin Kazan, and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who was brought in on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur although now, it looks like the Hoops will be trying to make his stay permanent.

Another player that the Hoops had been linked with last summer though is Manchester City’s Ko Itakura. But he ended up joining Schalke and played a major part in their promotion to the Bundesliga.

But the German club were unable to sign him on a permanent basis, as it is believed that they are not in a good financial situation right now. Thus, Itakura is expected to be available this summer as well and Celtic appear to have been handed a boost in the race to sign him.

Celtic handed massive boost in transfer race for Itakura

Itakura seems to be happy with being linked with the Glasgow giants. As reported by The National, when asked about the rumoured Celtic interest, the Japanese defender admitted:

“I’m very happy to hear that story because I’ve seen it in the news.

“Firstly, I want to go where I am needed. I haven’t decided on a team yet, no.

“I want to help myself by taking for myself before I decide to go.”

Thus, it goes without saying that the comments from Itakura will give Celtic a lot of hope that a deal could be possible this summer.

The player will surely be aware of Celtic and what they are doing at the moment, with his Japanese teammates, Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeada, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi part of Postecoglou’s side.

Now, it remains to be seen if Celtic do end up making a move for Itakura as well.

This article was originally posted here