CHRIS SUTTON
CELTIC LEGEND WRITES EXCLUSIVELY FOR YOU EVERY WEEK
ANGE POSTECOGLOU has got the ball rolling quickly in the January transfer window with the treble signings of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi.
The Celtic manager’s track record so far in the market suggests he can be trusted to get it spot on.
If he does get it right again this month, the once unlikely thought of Postecoglou’s team mounting a serious title challenge in his first year, and even winning it, is distinctly possible.
Celtic have lacked depth, but that’s not a shock. It was always going to be impossible for the new manager to rebuild the entire squad in just one window last summer.
The fact he got so many in the door who have turned out to be splendid acquisitions says much for the trained eye he has for spotting a player.
Given the success of Kyogo Furuhashi, there will be a natural excitement amongst the Parkhead supporters that Postecoglou has returned to the J-League market for Maeda, Hatate and Ideguchi.
Furuhasi has been simply sensational. The ease in which he has settled into life in Glasgow and hit the ground running has been sparkling.
He’s been an outstanding signing because his touch, movement and finishing are sublime and his countrymen have been set a high bar.
You have to remember that each individual is different. Not everyone settles as quickly as Furuhashi has done.
But if they do and they are of his standard, Postecoglou will have pulled more rabbits from the hat and the prices being mentioned are remarkable.
Maeda, who finished top scorer in J-League, for around £1.3million. It’s a ridiculously low fee and fair play to Celtic for trusting Postecoglou and exploring the market.
I’m not going to lie and pretend to be an expert on the J-League. My knowledge of these boys would be limited, but the only thing that matters is that the Celtic boss knows them inside out. Maeda played for him at Yokohama.
So, given what he brought the club in the shape of Furuhashi, why wouldn’t the board trust him and his judgement to go back there?
Jota has been outstanding and was in terrific form before he was struck down by his hamstring injury.
Regardless of what happens about a permanent deal, the Portuguese is an excellent loan signing. Liel Abada was amongst the first in the door. His goal record in Israel was good and
he’s put 10 on the board already at Celtic. There’s some inconsistency there. It’s natural with a young player, but you can’t say he hasn’t made an impact.
The jury is still out on Giorgos Giakoumakis, basically, because no-one has seen enough of him to really make a judgement.
Nevertheless, 34 goals between Furuhashi, Jota and Abada at this stage of a season is a smart return for those signings, especially given the fact they have missed games.
Down the other end of the park, Joe Hart has done exactly what Postecoglou needed him to do, make saves and bring calm to the backline.
Cameron Carter-Vickers may have been last in the door last summer, but he has been a revelation. A rock at the back.
Josip Juranovic looks to have real talent as befitting of a Croatian international and Liam Scales has done a job when asked.
At this stage, I’d have to say Carl Starfelt has struggled and Christopher Jullien’s return may see the Swede take a back seat.
James McCarthy is a signing who is yet to convince.
He’s struggled physically and needs games to improve his mobility. David Turnbull’s two-month absence may lead to an extended run in the side.
If the Japanese boys are an upgrade on what Celtic have at the moment, and given Postecoglou’s record so far you’d think they would be, they are seriously tooling up.
Interestingly, additions and returns may also offer options in terms of systems being altered.
No matter the personnel available, Postecoglou has stuck rigidly to a 4-3-3 set-up. With Jota flying on the left and scoring, it worked.
However, it was noticeable last weekend at St Johnstone that the boss switched it up. He moved to three at the back and played two up.
Does that suggest that Maeda could be a partner for Furuhasi? Does it mean Jullien going in alongside CarterVickers and Starfelt or Stephen Welsh if the situation suits?
Perhaps not. The manager has said that the intensity of training won’t drop. That can bring injuries, so it could just be a case of adding depth to positions and certain areas.
three If these of the guys are standard, same pulled Ange has out rabbits more of the hat
Whatever the plan going forward, it’s fair to say Postecoglou has earned the opportunity to dip strongly into the market this month.
Postecoglou always said reinforcements would arrive to boost a squad that isn’t far away in any case. One trophy has already been snared.
Ground has to be made up in the title race, but given the chaos of the summer, Celtic have done well to stay in touch with 18 games to go, including three more cracks at Rangers.
Postecoglou’s first batch of signings have given them a chance of an unlikely title win.
If the next lot are as good, they might just be able to pull it off.