Hayato Inarmura

His passing ability is apparently streets ahead and being left footed he will get a chance here at CB, hope he can seize it and quickly learn to follow CCV's lead and become a cohesive unit. If we can get a genuine ball player in that central defence it will elevate our game massively and get us up the pitch quicker, allowing the midfield to not drop so deep to get on the ball.

 

Cracking comments , I'm away to copy/paste them in the Greg Taylor thread fer a laugh

 

Hayato Inamura leaves Albirex Niigata and also arrives in Europe: Celtic awaits him! Official announcement coming in the next few hours

 

I have a feeling he is being signed as a left back cover for Tierney too. I also doubt we have only been scouting him just this season, the Japanese Uni system is a big deal and his team won the final last year for the first time in their history I think it said. Now I have no idea if he was a centre back or fullback for that team or a mix but I doubt we are signing him to be a left sided centre back for us, it just doesn’t seem realistic.

 

Delighted we're getting a new defender in quickly. Good to see some business getting done early in this window.

Still needing that new striker.

 

Another thing to add a positive spin on this is we struggled to beat a press last season at times. Him and Nygren, KT also have a mix of either the pace, ball carrying/ability to beat a man and composure..

If we're signing another centre half, which i think we will as well....is it'll be someone right sided and under Carter-Vickers. When in truth many of us wanted an upgrade on the left side..

I still have faith in Trusty enough with his big game performances, but i would've liked Scales out and someone else in..

 

He’s not actually a defender, he’s an extremely deep lying playmaker.

 

Should still be enjoying the sights and sounds of London just now

No doubt his club will make another early morning announcement that He’s signed

 

Ah well whatever he is he’s another addition. Still happy to see some business being done early

 

Aye he's genuinely gifted in the ball and his composure for only being a uni student less than a year ago Is mental.
5ft11 fast, technical. Has trained at cb. Personally I would be having him as a utility player. Cover at left back and re train him for cdm. Imagine him being able to play through a press in champions league nights. Wow.

 

I’ll be diplomatic and say that there has been a wee bit of pessimism, regarding Hayato Inamura’s impending move to Celtic since I first started covering it 2 weeks ago


The example of Yuki Kobayashi, another young, Japanese, central defender who joined Celtic a couple of years ago and ultimately didn’t make the grade has been frequently cited both in fan media and in the press as evidence that Inamura isn’t worth the risk.


I feel this is unfair, but I can understand the sentiment among Celtic fans. So, please allow me to offer a bit more context.


The biggest difference between Kobayashi and Inamura is their development pathway. Kobayashi progressed in a way that we might expect for a conventional footballer in Scotland.



He was part of Vissel Kobe’s youth set-up from the age of 10, and signed a professional contract with them in 2018 at the age of 17. He then spent the following two seasons on loan, first at Machida Zelvia, and later FC Yokohama.




After finally nailing down a first team place at Vissel, he enjoyed two successful seasons, before joining Celtic in November 2022.



Celtic sold him just under 2 years later, after only 5 first team appearances.



Now, let’s look at Inamura, who is only 18 months younger, but has, on paper, played far less than Kobayashi's 156 professional appearances to date.



Hayato Inamura has earned the right to get a move to Celtic the hard way. He has balanced his football career with academic studies for the past 4 years.


Now, this is not a slight on anyone who hasn’t gone to university. I got a degree in journalism and probably the only meaningful impact the experience had on me was to make me not want to be a journalist in Scotland




Back on topic, what this means for Inamura is that he has basically started his professional career 4 years later than Kobayashi. Like Kobayashi, he was on the book of a J-League team as a youth. In Inamura’s case it was FC Tokyo.



However, that is where the similarities end. Whilst Kobayashi moved into pro football at 17, Inamura was playing elite High school football at the time, and then moved onto university. He then continued to play in the university football system throughout his studies at Toyo University.



His performances in this, something akin to the American collegiate sports system, are what earned him his initial contract at Albirex Niigata, under a scheme called the Special Designated Player System.



This allows J-League clubs to sign up to 3 players professionally without having to register them with the first team. In other words, it allows prospects like Inamura to continue their studies, whilst securing their professional football future



Only players considered to have tremendous potential are afforded this opportunity. Like I said, it’s basically the equivalent of an American college basketball player being snapped up to play in the NBA.



Kobayashi, whilst I thought he looked good at Vissel Kobe, never reached that level of attention in Japan during his development.



Of course, good collegiate players don’t always graduate to become top level stars, but Celtic have another graduate of this scheme in their ranks already. Reo Hatate only played 62 games in professional football before moving to Celtic.




Like Inamura, he was at university until the age of 22. And like Inamura, his performances for Juntendo University earned him a move to Kawasaki Frontale and, in turn, a move to Celtic.



Now, is Hayato Inamura as good as Reo Hatate?



No he isn’t. At least not yet.



Is he better than Yuki Kobayashi


Whilst we won’t know for sure until he has been in Scotland for a while and played a few games for Celtic’s first team, he has achieved far more at this point in his career than Kobayashi had at the same stage of his development. So, yes, I'd say he is.



This is a risk by Celtic, but based on what I have read and seen about Inamura in my research, it’s a well-calculated risk.


I’m quietly optimistic, and hopefully once the player arrives and shows what he can do, other Celtic fans will be too

 

I'm so sick of every potential player being compared to another player that happens to be from the same country. Since when was every Japanese defender the same? Its completely irrelevant. Would be like saying we shouldn't bother moving for Lennon Miller because we have Luke McCowan. Its a nonsensical comparison and so boring to read.

 

Ni-Hao!

 

I'm not sure that was the point he was making Shelby, just that it was important to recognise he'd come through a different pathway than most people are used to - as usual, laptop warriors jumped straight to his age/games played/contribution stats and called him a flop, but he's saying that's a misdirection in this guy's case. Admittedly, he leaned VERY HARD on the positives, but he was cautious enough in saying he didn't know if it'd work out, just that he'd a good feeling.

Personally, I'm not expecting fireworks, and like most Asian players arriving into the game here it'll probably take time to settle and be judged properly, but I'm ok with these kind of prospects being chanced. Like you, I hope it works out better than I expect...

 

Think he’ll be confirmed on Thursday now



must be almost done considering his club announced he was leaving

 

That’s him posting on his instagram story his goodbyes now