Celtic sign Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate after success of Kyogo Furuhashi
- J1 League joint-top scorer Maeda reunites with Celtic boss Postecoglou after season together at Yokohama F Marinos
- Ideguchi ‘honoured’ to join Glasgow outfit while Hatate leaves two-time reigning J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale
Scottish Premier League giants Celtic have signed Japanese players Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate, with head coach Ange Postecoglou continuing to draw from his J1 League experience.
Japan international Maeda, 24, has arrived from Yokohama F Marinos on a season-long loan with a compulsory buy clause. The forward worked with Postecoglou during the Australian’s three years managing Yokohama before moving to Glasgow last summer.
Maeda left as this season’s J1 League joint top-scorer and was officially unveiled as Celtic’s first winter acquisition over the weekend.
Fellow national team player Ideguchi, 25, joins from Gamba Osaka while utility man Hatate, 24, leaves freshly crowned league champions Kawasaki Frontale – both on 4½-year contracts.
“Clearly I am well aware of their attributes and in bringing all three to the club, we are bringing even more quality, personality and energy to the squad to work with the players who have done so well for us already this season,” Postecoglou told the club’s website.
Speedster Maeda, who had a stint at Portuguese first division team Maritimo in 2019 before linking up with Postecoglou, said: “I know the manager from before. He’s always playing attacking football so I’m looking forward to playing that style of football again with him.”
Ideguchi, a midfielder who helped Japan to 2018 World Cup qualification after scoring against Postecoglou’s Australia national team in 2017, said he was “honoured” to join Celtic alongside his fellow countrymen, believing it would help him acclimatise to new styles and environments. Ideguchi joined Leeds United in 2018 but did not play.