Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has admitted he has interest in the Iranian market amid claims he wants to bring Mehdi Ghayedi to Parkhead.
Postecoglou has enjoyed a strong first season in charge of Celtic despite not being the Bhoys’ first choice for the job.
The Australian has stepped up brilliantly, putting Celtic right back in contention for the Scottish Premiership title.
Postecoglou has also helped change some perceptions of Australian coaches, with few having made a real impact in Europe.
Postecoglou has now spoken to Optus Sport back in Australia having been interviewed by former Aussie international goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
One topic that came up was the impact of Postecoglou’s signings, particularly from Japan.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate have become fan favourites at Celtic whilst Postecoglou has also brought in Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi.
Postecoglou has now talked up various Asian markets, looking further afield from Japan to talk up talents from countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
“Kyogo Furuhashi, for me, can play at the highest level,” said Postecoglou. “I had no doubt, but because he was coming from Japan, there’s always again, it’s because it’s the other side of the world. It’s like I said, it’s an untapped market, it’s a lot easier to sign a South American player or a European player.”
“I know the young players there, they want to be as successful as they possibly can. And, you know, the German league has had so many fantastic Japanese players playing there, but I go beyond Japan, I think Asian players in general, there’s players from Iran and Saudi [Arabia] that you think they could play in Europe very easily, top talents,” he added.
These aren’t markets that many clubs in Europe exploit on a regular basis, but Postecoglou seemingly fancies bringing more players from that part of the world to Celtic.
That’s particularly interesting as Celtic are believed to be chasing an Iranian international.
Varzesh3 reported in January that Celtic have made three approaches to try and sign Iran star Mehdi Ghayedi from Shabab Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates.
A tricky and diminutive player who can play out wide or as a number 10, Ghayedi has impressed with five goals and three assists in 21 outings for Shabab Al Ahli.
With two caps and one goal for Iran, the 23-year-old looks like becoming a star of the future and Postecoglou seemingly wants him at Celtic.
These latest comments from Postecoglou again hint towards looking at Iranian players, and the links to Ghayedi certainly line up.
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