Dan Orlowitz reckons that there was never any doubt about Ange Postecoglou returning to Yokohama Marinos to sign Daizen Maeda.
At the start of June Celtic secured a deal with the Marinos to bring in Postecoglou as their new manager, part of the agreement may have ruled out the new hoops boss returning to his old club to sign players.
Postecoglou raided Vissel Kobe for Kyogo Furuhashi but is now reported to be returning for Maeda with the J-League closing next month.
It is That Time of Year again, so a gentle reminder that Japanese outlets will always be chasing UK media’s tail when it comes to transfer rumors, not the other way around.
That said, there was never any doubt Ange would try to make this happen so we’ll see if he does! https://t.co/G1TWVztxgO
— Dan Orlowitz (@aishiterutokyo) October 22, 2021
Orlowitz reports on football for the Japan Times.
Having worked with Maeda until the start of June Postecoglou will know the striker’s game better than anyone, this season the 24-year-old has scored 18 times in 30 J League matches which is exactly the sort of return to give Celtic a January lift.
On the back of Kyogo’s success at Celtic there is bound to be other interest in Maeda but the early success of his old boss and a possible partnership with Kyogo should put Celtic in the driving seat to secure the transfer.
The manager himself is best placed to rate J-League players that could excel in the Scottish game. However, we really ought to have an equally competent integrated scouting and recruitment network providing a number of viable options that the manager can also consider.