The expected arrival of yet another Japanese
Celtic defender Carl Starfelt says he will welcome Yuki Kobayashi to the club, even though he knows the Japanese will be a direct rival for his jersey.
Ange Postecoglou is readying himself for a hectic January transfer window, with players coming in and others going out as he attempts to bolster his squad for the challenges ahead.
And, having enjoyed great success with the recruitment of J-league trio Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi last winter, the Hoops boss has again turned his attention to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Kobayashi (inset), a 22-year-old who plays for Kyogo Furuhashi’s former club, Vissel Kobe, is the man that he wants.
The left-footed central defender would be a potential long-term partner for Cameron Carter-vickers, though he would have Starfelt and Mortiz Jenz for competition.
Quizzed on the possibilities, Postecoglou would only say that the club were determined to keep improving the level of the squad.
With Starfelt only just having returned to the side after injury – his start against Real
Madrid at the Bernabeu last week was his first appearance since September – that could mean a tough few months ahead.
The Swede, though, is philosophical, welcoming competition in general while at the same time giving a vote of confidence to the current group of players. “I think the club is looking to bring in players for areas where they feel we can improve, or do with some more depth,” said Starfelt.
“Every player who can contribute to the team winning games is welcome, so we will wait and see what happens.
“Of course, at a big club like Celtic, there should always be competition.
“But, with that said, I think we have a really strong squad. We have a lot of players, and I am also happy with how our squad looks right now.
“I think we have shown we can play our football, even against the game’s big teams.
“We need experience of playing in those big games as well, to understand what it takes because there is a quite big gap between us and the teams we face on a weekly basis.
“Our football has been working in terms of creating chances, and stuff like that.
“Obviously, in the Champions League we let in too many goals, and we weren’t as ruthless in front of goal as we had hoped.
“We are creating the chances and could have easily picked up more points. It is not as if we have been outplayed in the games.
“For now, we have to focus on our Scottish campaign. There are three trophies to play for, and we will be trying our best to win them all.”
Signed in the summer of 2021, in what was Postecoglou’s first raft of imports into the Scottish game, Starfelt has had a close-up view of the impact made by his Japanese team-mates.
If he does not know much about Kobayashi yet, he agrees the fact Hatate and Kyogo both failed to make their nation’s squad to travel to Qatar for the World Cup is something of a message in itself.
“The competition must be strong!” he said of a group that does include Maeda, who arguably has made less of a mark in Scotland than the pair who missed out.
“I don’t know too much about the other Japanese involved, but they are very good players, who have done really well for Celtic.
“I am sure their time with the national team will come as well.”
With Sweden having lost their play-off final to Poland, Starfelt will have to join his Scottish club-mates in following the action in Qatar from afar.
“It is more boring when we are not there, but I will still watch it,” he said.
“The World Cup only happens every four years, so when it is on I try to see all the games.”