Neilson admits Celtic’s success inspired Oda deal
AS Hearts seek to cement their position as Scotland’s third force, Robbie Neilson admits the Tynecastle club have taken inspiration from the recruitment that helped propel Celtic to first.
In January last year, former Yokohama F. Marinos boss Ange Postecoglou signed Japanese striker Daizen Maeda and midfielders Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi in the wake of the runaway success of forward Kyogo Furuhashi at Parkhead.
Maeda, Hatate and Furuhashi have all proved such smash hits that Celtic have since signed midfielder Tomoki Iwata and defender Yuki Kobayashi.
But the J-League influx has also had an influence in the east as Japan Under-21 international Yutaro Oda landed in Edinburgh this week to sign for Hearts.
The former Vissel Kobe forward may take a couple of weeks to hit peak fitness but Neilson hopes a player with Asian Champions League experience can follow in the footsteps of Celtic’s Japanese Bhoys.
‘When you go into a market you don’t really know, it’s always good to measure it against players who have come over here,’ explained the Hearts boss.
‘The majority of the Japanese players at Celtic have done very well. That tells us players from that league can compete here as well. It’s a very good level with good players, some who we have an opportunity to get because of the value for money in that market.
‘I’m also pretty sure players in Japan will see the Celtic players and will have ambition to go to Europe. That probably helped with us bringing Oda in as well.’
Neilson believes claims that signing players from the other side of the world represents a gamble due to culture shock is a false narrative in 2023.
He argued: ‘You look at the internet and mobile phones. It’s not like ten to 15 years ago, when players were coming over and there was no connection.
‘Oda can get the same food he wants here, and the same culture. There’s a big Japanese community in Edinburgh and already we have had people reaching out to us offering to help him settle in. So I don’t see it being a problem.’
It was announced at the Hearts AGM last month that the Gorgie club would bank £3million from their involvement in Europe this season. In addition to Oda, they have brought in defender James Hill on loan from Bournemouth.
They are also close to clinching deals for Newcastle United’s young Australia World Cup forward Garang Kuol as well as a return to Gorgie for Sheffield Wednesday’s versatile Callum Paterson.
The plan is to secure third place in the Premiership, bank another European windfall and complete a virtuous circle by investing the cash back into the squad.
‘That’s the hope,’ said Neilson. ‘You speak to the players and show them what we’ve done previously — cup finals, European football. You show them the fan base, selling out every home game, the city, the training ground. The better the players we get in, the more chance of continuing that.
Hearts have a chance to take a big step in the right direction when St Mirren visit Gorgie tomorrow. Win and Neilson’s men would be six points clear of nearest challengers Aberdeen.
While welcoming the visit of Saints under the lights, the Hearts boss does not want to see too many Friday night fixtures.
‘Once in a blue moon is good,’ he said. ‘It’s great to have it but I’m not keen on it every week.’