The Ange Postecoglou era at Celtic might be over, after the Australian manager decided to leave the club in order to take the Tottenham Hotspur job this summer. His influence still continues to be felt at Parkhead though and the club have signed a player on a permanent basis, who was brought in on loan earlier this year.
That player in question is none other than Tomoki Iwata. The versatile Japanese star was brought in from Postecoglou’s former club, Yokohama F. Marinos, on an initial loan deal.
That has been made permanent now and Iwata will be staying on at Celtic Park. It remains to be seen how he does next season under the management of Brendan Rodgers.
As reported by Yokohama F. Marinos’ official website, Iwata has decided to permanently transfer to Celtic and the player said:
“I have decided to make a permanent transfer to Celtic FC. I can only thank Oita Trinita and Yokohama F. Marinos for making my dream come true.
Winning the championship last season is a sight I will never forget in my football life. Every day’s practice was fun, and every week I was able to share the victory with the Marinos family, and the two years I spent at F. Marinos was a very fulfilling time. I am glad that I moved to F. Marinos, and I would like to do my best in my own way so that I can think that my move to Celtic FC is also a good thing.
thank you very much!
Let’s do it, consecutive victories!
See you soon on July 19th!”
Celtic permanent transfer finally announced officially
Iwata was fantastic for Yokohama F. Marinos and one of the best players in the J-League. So when Celtic signed him, he came in with huge expectations.
Till now, Iwata has looked decent in the chances that he has gotten and he has shown glimpses of his quality. But we are clearly yet to see the best of the Japanese star. Hopefully, that will come next season, now that he has had a taste of the Scottish game and will have a pre-season under his belt as well.
Iwata was mostly an option off the bench in the second half of last season though he got to play a decent amount of football towards the end of the campaign, when Cameron Carter-Vickers was out injured. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has 18 appearances and played 777 minutes of football for Celtic till now.
Iwata is expected to improve next season. Hopefully, there is a lot more to come from the 2022 J-League MVP.
- Published on 07/13/2023 at 12:05 PM
- Last updated at 07/13/2023 at 12:06 PM
This article was originally posted here