Ange Postecoglou signing close to leaving Celtic

Celtic made a lot of great signings during Ange Postecoglou's run as the manager of the club, especially in the Australian's first season at Parkhead. Players like Kyogo, Jota, Reo Hatate, Matt O'Riley, Daizen Maeda, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Josip Juranovic, Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liel Abada and more were all signed in the 2021/22 campaign.

That is a remarkable amount of talent and quality. Unfortunately, Celtic were not able to repeat their transfer magic in the following campaign.

One of the signings made last season was that of Yuki Kobayashi. The Japanese centre-back has failed to make his mark at Celtic though.

He was making appearances here and there under the management of Postecoglou. But since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers as manager, Kobayashi has not featured once. Now, it looks like he is on his way out of the club and a short-term return to Japan is on the cards for him.

Postecoglou signing close to leaving Celtic

As reported by Sponichi, Kashima Antlers will sign Kobayashi. The contract is expected to be for a period of six months.

On paper, a return to Japan would make a ton of sense for all parties involved. Kashima Antlers are believed to be in need of reinforcements at centre-back urgently and Kobayashi could be the solution to their problems.

On the other hand, Kobayashi knows the Japanese league well. He was at Vissel Kobe before signing for Celtic. Thus, it could be the right move for him to bring his career back on track.

As for Celtic, it just does not look like Kobayashi has a future at the club. He has not made a single appearance this season and there is very little point keeping him at Parkhead when he does not even make the bench. Allowing him to leave on loan could help the centre-back earn a future permanent transfer, just like Yosuke Ideguchi.