GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 04: New Celtic signing Hayato Inamura during a pre-season friendly match between Queen's Park and Celtic at the City Stadium, on July 04, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Brendan Rodgers has moved to dampen down expectations about Hayato Inamura.
The defender was announced as a Celtic player just before last night’s friendly against Queens Park following less than 40 senior matches in the J-League for Albirex Niigata.
There has been expectation among Celtic fans that a central defender would be signed to partner Cameron Carter-Vickers with that role being filled to varying degrees of success by a couple of players over the last four seasons.
Carl Starfelt was the preferred choice under Ange Postecoglou, last season the task was shared by Liam Scales and Auston Trusty but neither made a very convincing case to nail the position down.
As a left sided central defender it would be easy to assume that Inamura has been signed to take on that role but discussing the new defender the Daily Record reports:
Rodgers is delighted to get the Asian, but says he’s not yet first-team ready and explained: “No, he won’t be. He’s, again, a part of the investment of the club.
“To bring a player in, we’ll assess and see where he’s at as a young player. And then it’s whether he stays with the squad or whether he has to go out on loan.”
Sending Inamura out on loan will be a delicate task, deciding whether he stays in the UK to experience a physical league or goes to somewhere like Belgium where Stephen Welsh spent the second half of last season with Mechelen.
Celtic have six more friendlies to play this month with Rodgers likely to put Inamura into a few of those matches to assess exactly what level he is at.
CLICK HERE for Inamura Transfermarkt profile.
I don’t anything about the player other than he’s 23 so for Rodgers to be talking about him going on loan suggests we’ll look to sell him in a year or two. Why would we go to Japan to find a £300k player to flip? It’s very odd.
I’m totally bamboozled by our CB situation…We’re allowing …imo…2 more than decent cbs to leave…Stephen Welsh…again imo…is a good CB…but isn’t in the hunt…CCV is proving dodgy injury wise…Trusty and Scales have their critics…Beam me up Scotty.
I was listening to Ross McCormack on SSB the other night (definitely the long lost brother of wee Benny Ferguson,he’s a stuntman for him)follow the bouncing ball when this guy talks,and does he talk some shite.
Apparently Lyle Cameron went to sevco from Kilmarnock according to him then he spoke about the Morrocan Messi signing for Lille with terms agreed with the player and the team but nothing agreed or signed off with sevco in the deal but it will be a mega money deal.
BOOM! Almost a week later, Lille have moved on to and signed another 2 strikers and the Morrocan Messi is still hanging about Govan hoping to still get a game for sevco.
Now McCormack was the guy that got that gig at SSB the other night,just think who failed it for him to get.
Didn’t even know it was on in the summertime Joker…
But not listening until it’s after a defeat for Sevco…
It must be torture otherwise !
If Celtic’s first team acquisitions were as fast at being signed as the ‘ project ‘ players are …I would enjoy the Summer break very much ? Until that time ….until that time!
You will never see the level of any player in a friendly match that will only come from competitive games, I would hope the scouting dept know exactly what level he is at just now as that would surely be the job they have to do.
There are far too many players in my opinion who have not had valuable minutes on the park under rodgers, how badly do players have to be sometimes to be subbed off, he does not seem to want to give any minutes to certain players which in my mind is bad for that players progression.
Editor: You can discount all of the Mark Lawwell Summer 2023 signings from the deserving minutes group, their level is German Second Division of MLS.
4 players in so far, 2 first team starters, 2 projects. The sell on money they got for Frimpong, would have covered those four and change back. Rodgers seems to have falling into the ways of the Boards thinking, as all we are hearing is Platitudes. Get some real business done or take a hike. I hear Ange is unemployed.
just to give 1 example, i could give 6 or 7, alex valle was head and shoulders above anything i have ever seen from taylor for example and at only 21 yrs of age I would have much preferred him to tierney who is a big bug gamble so far as his injury history which stagnated his development at arsenal & real sociedad
I actually try not to HATE things, to see another angle and so on.
But I fu**in HATE every transfer window and Peter Lawwell with a passion.
These things are not unconnected.
DD and PL are basically playing “flip the player”. It has bugger all to do with football or what is best for the team. Frimpong and Kuhn make up for the gambles that didn’t work out and even with those, they seem to get their money back most times.
This is every season and I wouldn’t blame BR if he walked again.
I think they forked out £11 million for Engels as they believe he is going to be sold on for 3 times that and probably the reason he retains his place in the team each week.