Celtic must follow after Aston Villa’s announcement

Celtic’s transfer strategy shifted significantly following the arrival of Ange Postecoglou as the manager of the club in the summer of 2021. They started to spread their scouting net further and wider. and found a lot of success as a result. One of the biggest reasons they were able to recover from the 20/21 campaign so quickly and return to the top of Scottish football almost immediately was the signings that they made.

The J-League became a particular area of interest for Celtic. The likes of Reo Hatate, Kyogo and Daizen Maeda have gone on to become key players for the club. On the other hand, the signing of Yosuke Ideguchi did not really work out. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata but things are not going as they would have envisioned.

With the rise of Ange Postecoglou and the success of the Japan national team in recent years, it looks like more clubs are starting to look towards the J-League now. And Aston Villa made a very interesting announcement recently.

Aston Villa and Vissel Kobe, the club Kyogo played for before joining Celtic, have sealed a strategic partnership. The Premier League club announced the news on their official website.

Celtic must follow after Aston Villa’s announcement

Celtic should aim for something similar with another J-League club. With the added interest in the Japanese top flight, the transfer fees are only expected to go up from here.

Celtic have tried to replicate their success by signing players from the K-League this year. It has not worked out till now.

Having a strategic partner in the J-League would only help the club identify talent even earlier. And with the changing landscape of the game, this seems like the way to go and Celtic must stay a step ahead of the competition.