Ange Postecoglou makes superb claim about Celtic player

Celtic have recruited brilliantly over the past four transfer windows. That is one of the biggest reasons why they have been so successful under the management of Ange Postecoglou, already winning three titles and another Premiership does not feel far away either. And they might have pulled off a few masterstrokes in January as well.

Alistair Johnston has already been hailed as an incredible addition. Many even feel that the Canadian has improved Celtic at right-back. That is a big claim considering that position was occupied by Josip Juranovic not too long ago.

Tomoki Iwata and Oh Hyeon-gyu have been mostly restricted to appearances off the bench but they have impressed in the time that they have spent on the pitch. One player who has gotten a bit lost in the shuffle out of the four January arrivals is Yuki Kobayashi.

That is not due to a lack of quality though. Kobayashi has impressed in his appearances as well, but Celtic have a nailed on centre-back partnership at the moment in Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt. Postecoglou appears to be expecting big things from the Japanese defender though and seems to have been impressed by him for sure.

Postecoglou makes superb claim about Celtic player

As reported by the Daily Record, Postecoglou said about Kobayashi:

"“I thought he was really good. It wasn’t easy to play on the surface and they were physical. It was good to get him 90 minutes but in all the games he’s played, he’s hardly put a foot wrong and he’s growing as a player. That’s always going to be the challenge. If it’s not Cameron or Carl it’ll be someone else. All good clubs won’t just have two good centre-halves. We want more in each position, challenging.”"

Of course, Kobayashi started the recent game against Kilmarnock away at Rugby Park with Carter-Vickers left out of the squad altogether. And while Celtic were not able to keep a clean sheet on the day, the Japanese star did impress with his display once again.

We might see the best of Kobayashi from next season, as he only arrived in January. Of course, he will have a tough task on his hands, getting ahead of two defensive pillars in Starfelt and Carter-Vickers. But that competition is exactly what is needed at teams like Celtic.