Celtic player 'guaranteed' transfer disappointment as uncertainty lurks after move decision gone awry
The Hoops forward is struggling with the same issues on the continent as he was at Celtic Park.
Celtic farmed out striker Shin Yamada to Preussen Munster to improve his game time - but he is now suffering the fate in the Bundesliga 2.
Yamada made just one league start for Celtic in a 3-0 victory over Livingston in August under Brendan Rodgers. In his other 10 Hoops appearances as a substitute he wasn’t able to get on the scoresheet. As the goals dried up, so did the Japanese striker’s games as he left for Germany on a short-term deal during the January transfer window.
His loan move to the German second tier was intended to give him more minutes on the pitch but has subsequently had the opposite effect. Yamada has made just five appearance for Preussen Munster and was hooked at half time in his only start. With him being of no use to either Celtic or Munster sitting on the bench for Alexander Ende’s side, the Hoops could now be set to have a decision to make on the forward, with the summer transfer window ahead.
Celtic loanee to make ‘early return’
Manager Ende claims the reason for Yamada’s minutes being diminished is that at the turn of the year, Munster had several forward players sidelined with injury who have since returned. He explained: “At one stage we had 12 players out injured and that’s why we brought in loan players like Shin Yamada and Imad Rondic.
“Now all those injuries have cleared and we have six strikers for two positions. Tough decisions and disappointments are guaranteed. But every single professional in our squad is extremely valuable to us.”
Yamada was left out of the matchday squad in Pruessen Munster’s 3-1 defeat at home to FC Magdeburg last weekend. Before that, he was an unused substitute in their 6-0 hammering at the hands of Dynamo Dresden. Their run of three defeats on the bounce has had them slide down to the bottom of the Bundesliga 2 table.
Can Shin Yamada make his way back into the Celtic starting XI?
Yamada was one of Celtic’s only permanent summer window forward additions this season when he joined in July for £1.5m from Kawasaki Frontale. At the time, Brendan Rodgers signed the striker to add depth at the top end of the pitch to help replace the goals of Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and Matt O’Riley.
From his time at Celtic before his loan switch, Yamada was often behind his Japan teammate in the selection pecking order, as well as Kelechi Iheanacho and Johnny Kenny, who has since moved on to Bolton Wanderers. If Yamada was to make his Parkhead return, he would now have to overcome even more striking options to regain his place after Martin O’Neill bolstered his attack in January with the loan additions of Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu and Joel Mvuka.
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