Everything seems to be going Celtic’s way at this point of time. The club scored two late goals through Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada to win against Dundee United, when it had seemed like it was doomed to be a draw. The result proved to be very vital, as the Rangers went on to lose 2-1 away at St Johnstone, meaning Ange Postecoglou’s men are now leading Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side by seven points.
Thus, no matter what happens moving forward, Celtic are guaranteed to go into the World Cup break as the Premiership leaders. And there seems to be some more good news on the horizon for Postecoglou and company as well.
Recently, rumours had broken out that Celtic had agreed a deal with Vissel Kobe to sign Japanese youth international defender, Yuki Kobayashi, in January. But now, it looks like not only are the Hoops going to be signing the 22-year-old but it will be a free transfer as well, with his contract running out at the end of the season.
A report from Nikkan Sports goes on to read:
"With the expiration of the contract, DF Yuki Kobayashi (22) has been confirmed to transfer completely to Celtic without a transfer fee."
Celtic are set to complete the free transfer in January in what could prove to be another transfer masterstroke
Celtic have signed four players from the J1 League since the arrival of Postecoglou as manager – Kyogo, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi.
Kyogo, Hatate and Maeda have proven themselves as first-team regulars, and the only move that has not worked is the one for Ideguchi. Now, it looks like the name of Kobayashi is going to be added to that list soon as well.
Kobayashi is a left-footed centre-back, who would give Postecoglou the option to have a combination with Cameron Carter-Vickers in the heart of defence and open up the pitch further. The youngster has an impressive range of passing, is a good reader of the game, good aerially and not afraid to go into a tackle.