Ex-Celtic hero Shunsuke Nakamura backs more Japanese players to make the cross-continent switch to former club

Former Celtic hero Shunsuke Nakamura hopes Ange Postecoglou will continue to raid the J-League market in future transfer windows after insisting the club’s new Japanese signings gives him “great pleasure”.

The Hoops boss brought striker Kyogo Furuhashi to Parkhead in the summer before returning to Japan’s top tier to lure trio Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi to Glasgow in January.

It has been a successful avenue for Postecoglou with all four players proving an instant hit with supporters and Nakamura has backed more Japanese players to make the cross-continent switch to his former club.

The 43-year-old, who joined Celtic in 2005 under Gordon Strachan from Italian outfit Reggina, made over 100 appearances for the Hoops and is renowned as one of the club’s greatest set-piece specialists of all time.

Nakamura became the first Japanese player to score in the Champions League and was nominated for the Ballon d’OR in 2007.

He is eager to see further Japanese stars make history in the Scottish Premiership and in Europe.

Speaking to the Celtic View, he said: “Their success is a genuine pleasure for me and I’m very glad to see Ange Postecoglou take charge and take four Japanese players over who are all playing well.

“I think Celtic have four really good players. Yosuke has more than 10 caps for Japan and is a great talent. Reo is only getting better by the day and won two league titles in Japan.

“Daizen is very quick and has all the ability required for modern football and matches the style of the manager.

“I hope more Japanese players will join Celtic in the future and help the club, but I also have my former team-mate Stephen McManus who is now a coach there, and I wish him good luck.”

Nakamura, who currently plays for J2 League side Yokohama FC, revealed he still keeps an eye out for Celtic’s results from across the globe.

He added: “I am one of the Celtic supporters in the Far East now and I hope they will all carve their name in the history of the club and I wish them all the best.”

Meanwhile, Reo Hatate will have to wait a bit longer to make his senior international debut after the midfielder was left out of Japan’s starting line-up for their World Cup qualifier against Australia.

The 24-year-old utility man, who can operate at left wing-back or in midfielder, has generally featured in a energetic number eight role by Ange Postecoglou.

National team boss Hajime Moriyasu had previously spoken about how Hatate’s versatility could prove beneficial in their upcoming games and offered an insight into how his role might differ from that at club level.

He said: “Hatate’s adjusted to playing in the Premiership and living in Scotland, and looking at his performances I decided to call him up.

“I think he’ll be able to play the inside-half role he’s been in for Celtic, but I also think he can play at other positions.”

The former Kawasaki Frontale man played a starring role in the prestigious Toulon Tournament in 2019 and was selected as part of Japan’s 2020 Olympics squad in Tokyo alongside Hoops team-mate Daizen Maeda.

Hatate is the only Celtic player in the current squad with Kyogo Furuhashi ruled out with a hamstring injury, Maeda withdrawing due to ‘fitness concerns’ and Yosuke Ideguchi struggling for game time.