Following Saturday’s gut-wrenching penalty shootout defeat in the Scottish Cup Final, all Celtic supporters have turned their attention to the club’s plans for the summer.
Before they are next in action, Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to have a few new signings he can showcase, with some key areas clearly to address at Parkhead.
Kieran Tierney is set to arrive at left-back, while a replacement may also be needed for the injury-stricken Jota on the flanks. Kyogo Furuhashi arguably hasn’t been properly replaced since he left in January either.
But, where does their latest target feature?
Celtic's latest transfer target
According to a report by Japanese outlet Sponichi Annex, Celtic are ‘interested’ in Djurgardens’ defender Keita Kosugi, claiming that Paris Saint-Germain have also made a move to secure his services.
The 19-year-old spent his youth career with Shonan Bellmare, before travelling to Sweden for a trial with Djurgarden in March 2024, impressing to such an extent that the Blue Stripes rewarded him with a four-year contract less than a week after his 18th birthday.
How Kosugi could be Celtic's latest Asian success story
Something of an attacking threat from left-back in a similar mould to Tierney, the defender has made 43 appearances for the Stockholm-based giants, scoring five goals.
He was notably on target against both Víkingur Reykjavík and Rapid Wien during their historic run to the Conference League semi-finals, bagging a stunning equaliser during the quarter-final comeback in Vienna.
It’s that star quality that could see him be an enormous success story in Scotland, just as his fellow countrymen have been since the Ange Postecoglou era.
Indeed, to date, eight Japanese players have made a senior appearance for Celtic, many of whom have made a massive impression.
Shunsuke Nakamura was the first, with Ryan Benson of Opta’s the Analyst noting that he is ‘one of the best free-kick takers of all-time’, and many of his compatriots have followed since.
Shunsuke Nakamura
2005-09
155
31
Kōki Mizuno
2008-10
12
1
Kyogo Furuhashi
2021-25
165
85
Yosuke Ideguchi
2022
6
Zero
Reo Hatate
2022-present
142
27
Daizen Maeda
2022-present
158
62
Yūki Kobayashi
2023
7
Zero
Tomoki Iwata
2023-24
42
1
Four of the eight Japanese players have had a huge impact at Celtic, two of whom remain key figures in Rodgers’ team right now.
Daizen Maeda picked up all of this season’s individual accolades, Celtic’s player of the year, PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year and rightly so, considering he scored 33 goals in all competitions.
The forward arrived in 2022 from Yokohama F. Marinos for just £1.5m, which has proved to be an absolute bargain, so could Kosugi represent similarly excellent value for money?
Well, Han June of Football Asian believes the left-back to be “one of Asia’s hottest young prospects”, praising his “fearless defending”.
Meanwhile, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout is impressed by his ‘pace…work rate…versatility and technique’, among other attributes, labelling him ‘a modern defender’.
Minutes
987
14th
Goals
2
51st
Progressive carries
23
30th
Carries into final third
23
10th
Attempted passes
506
36th
Tackles
23
18th
% of dribblers tackled
85.7%
8th
Blocks
22
3rd
Interceptions
12
24th
Clearances
46
15th
Ball recoveries
42
40th
Touches
653
26th
As the table outlines, Kosugi is a very well-rounded player, impressing both in and out of possession, supporting Kulig’s assertion that he is an “exciting talent”.
Writer Kai Watson believes he is an “excellent prospect”, noting that Kosugi is a “promising attacking threat” as well as being “defensively… superb”, regularly “winning the ball back to drive forward”.
Thus, with Greg Taylor and Jeffrey Schlupp set to depart, even with Tierney poised to return, Kosugi has all the attributes to be Celtic’s latest Japanese sensation.
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