Brendan Rodgers admits he has been impressed by the ‘sensational’ impact of Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate at Celtic.
The good news, for Celtic’s Japanese trio, is that the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement should – if all goes to plan – build on the foundations the Australian laid down during two outstanding years at Parkhead.
Rodgers is a coach cut from largely the same cloth. A man who shares Postecoglou’s proactive, possession-heavy principles. Less chalk and cheese, and more cheddar and brie.
The former Leicester City and Liverpool boss returned for a second spell at Parkhead last week. He inherits a squad which claimed their fifth domestic treble in eight years in 2022/23.
Rodgers has spoken in glowing terms about Celtic’s recruitment during the Postecoglou era too, with Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and the 34-goal top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi thriving in green-and-white since arriving as relative unknowns from the Far East.
Brendan Rodgers excited to work with Celtic’s J-League imports
“The young Japanese players have been sensational since they’ve been here,” Rodgers tells the Celtic Way.
The Premiership champions will travel to Japan and Korea during their pre-season tour this summer. Kyogo and co were also joined in Glasgow by Tomoki Iwata, Yuki Kobayashi and Oh Hyeon-Gyu in the winter window.
“It’s a nice thing for them to go to their country,” Rodgers adds. “I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to speak those languages but the football language is universal. When I’ve seen those guys play, they won’t need much of my lingo!
“I’ve never been to Japan or Korea so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Rodgers’ Celtic may soon be picking up where Postecoglou’s Celtic left off too; the Daily Record reporting that the Hoops have set their sights on three more players catching the eye in the Far East.
K-League trio Yang Hyun-Jun, Eom ji-sung and Jeong Ho-yeon are reportedly on the radar.
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