One of the biggest problems Celtic have faced in recent times is with their recruitment and scouting. The Hoops have signed plenty of players who do not seem to have any part in the manager's plans. And as a result, quite a few of them are already being linked with moves away from Parkhead despite being signed in the previous summer transfer window.
That is a criticism that was aimed at the club's recruitment during Brendan Rodgers' second spell. It often felt like players were brought in even though they did not fit the profile that the manger wanted.
As a result, they never ended up getting proper chances. Some names that come to mind immediately in this regard are Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki.
There were plenty of others as well though. And two such players signed in the most recent transfer window were Hayato Inamura and Shin Yamada. Now, it looks like both could already be heading for the Celtic exit door and understandably so, considering how limited chances have been for them in Glasgow.
Two Celtic summer signings could leave this January
It has been suggested that both Japanese players could be heading back to the J-League this January on a loan deal. As reported by Born Celtic, ACSOM’s Japan-based contributor Liam Carrigan said:
"Inamura can play attacking full-back role.
“I think he’s a bit more pacy than Hatate, though Hatate is obviously the more accomplished footballer.
“Inamura has played wing back before as I thought he might have done.
“So yeah. And also, I think it was same gentleman Matsu, he mentioned that there’s rumours going about in Japan at the moment that Inamura and Shin could be off back to the J League on loan in January."
It is safe to say that neither is making much of an impact at Celtic at the moment. So, it might be the best step forward for them to leave the club in search of consistent opportunities elsewhere.
Yamada was a key player in the J-League before joining Celtic. On the other hand, Inamura was a rising youngster and the expectation was that he would leave on loan in the summer itself. But then, he impressed in pre-season and that seemed to earn him a spot on the squad, although, keeping him turned out to be a misstep after Marcelo Saracchi was brought in on loan from Boca Juniors.