Celtic fringe man announces own transfer exit ahead of the club as Parkhead departure slips under the radar
Celtic have apparently cut ties with the Japanese centre-back
Forgotten Celtic defender Yuki Kobayashi has seemingly announced his own departure after being officially paraded in front of the media by his new club in Portugal.
As per his official Instagram account, the player has subtly changed his bio to confirm he is now a Portimonense player. The centre-back has moved to the second-tier side on a three-year deal after a challenging 18th-month spell in Glasgow, but his transfer exit has not yet been acknowledged by the Hoops. It appears he has taken matters into his own hands, though to update his social media to his new team.
Former Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou snapped up the 24-year-old from J-League outfit Vissel Kobe last January on a long-term deal but he has struggled to break into the first-team at Celtic Park. He made seven appearances in all competitions during his first season at the club and didn’t feature at all under Brendan Rodgers in the previous campaign.
He did feature during the club’s summer pre-season tour of the USA, despite being deemed surplus to requirements. Kobayashi will hope a switch to Portimonense can help him get his career back on track. They came 16th in the table last term and suffered relegation to Liga 2 as they aim to get promoted at the first time of asking. After signing for the Scottish giants in 2023, the left-sided defender said at the time: "I am so excited to be joining Celtic and I am really looking forward to this wonderful opportunity. I will be giving everything to try and be successful with the Club. The work of Ange Postecoglou is also really well-known in Japan after he had such a great time in the J League, and as well as being part of Celtic I can’t wait to work with him as a coach and the great team of players he has already developed.
“I know that Celtic over so many years has such a brilliant track record of success and I now want to play my part in bringing more great moments to the Club and our fans. I would like to thank Vissel Kobe sincerely for all the support that has been given to me in the early part of my career and now I look forward to embracing this exciting new challenge with Celtic, one of the world’s great football clubs.”
Prior to his Celtic move, Kobayashi broke through in his homeland where he played 78 games for Vissel Kobe, chipping in with a couple of goals along the way. He also had loan spells away at Machida Zelvia and Yokohama to get more senior experience under his belt.
It hasn’t worked out for him in Scotland which is a shame for both him and the club. However, a change of scene could do him good now and he is still young and has plenty of time to put things right in Portugal.
Brendan Rodgers’ side won 3-0 away at St Mirren last time out to make it three wins from three in the league. They face Rangers in their next fixture as they look to keep their momentum going.