It was all started by Ange Postecoglou. What a signing Kyogo Furuhashi has been, the player he brought in from Vissel Kobe. Kyogo has been dominating the Scottish Premiership and has quickly won over the Parkhead crowd. Not only Kyogo, though; former J-League players Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda have also established themselves as regulars for the Hoops. Ange was obviously an expert at what he was doing, and the rest of the football world is currently catching up.
Should Villa or anybody else require additional persuasion, they need only glance to Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma. After leaving Kawasaki Frontale, the young man has been dominating the Premier League. It’s funny that before Mitoma left for South Africa, Ange attempted to sign him for Celtic. It just goes to show that while Celtic has always been ahead of the curve, other people are only now beginning to see what they have been missing.
And here’s the catch. It may become more difficult for Celtic to sign players from the J-League in the future if more teams begin to show an interest in it. That is, assuming they continue to gaze upon the Land of the Rising Sun in the ensuing years. After all, Ange oversaw the recruitment of all of these J-League players.
Therefore, even though Aston Villa made a wise decision in forming this new relationship, let’s not forget the person who started the trend. Celtic has led the way in demonstrating that clubs seeking to strengthen their rosters have a legitimate option in the J-League. However, if word spreads, the Hoops may have more competition than they would want. However, recognition must go to Celtic, who were the first to really scour the league on a reasonable scale for talent.
The onus then shifted to the players, and so far, three men have left their mark. Some, like Yosuke Ideguchi, Tomoki Iwata, and Yuki Kobayashi, haven’t fared as well thus far.
