West Ham United eye Celtic transfer raid on three mystery players as clue over one star provided
Hammers have a former Rangers chief overseeing recruitment
Three mystery Celtic players are reportedly being monitored by West Ham United in the transfer window - and one of whom is Japanese.
The Hammers were relegated to the Championship last season and are at risk of losing key men Jarrod Bowen, Crysencio Summerville and Konstantinos Mavropanos this summer, to add to midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who left for Tottenham for £85m. In turn, manager Nuno Espirito Santo is looking north of the border for reinforcements after reportedly losing out on their top transfer target.
The club appointed former Rangers Technical Director Nils Koppen as their new Director of Player Recruitment earlier this month. After spending 11 months at Celtic’s Old Firm rivals, the Belgian is well acquainted with the Scottish game and as they now target a mystery Hoops trio, clearly some former foes caught his attention. As one of the players is said to be Japanese, one of the unidentified men can be narrowed down to a few options.
West Ham after Japanese Celtic star
According to Claret and Hugh: “It was made clear that whilst the Hammers have, for the time being, missed out on their primary target this summer, there have still been no concrete offers made for any player. That suggests the club are continuing to do the groundwork before deciding which deals to pursue.
“We also understand that one of the three Celtic players currently under consideration is Japanese. Whether West Ham eventually move for one, two or even all three remains to be seen. But after a slow start to the summer, it would appear Nils Koppen’s recruitment plans are hopefully beginning to take shape.”
The source narrows it down to two options as Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate remain the only Japanese players at the club after their countryman and Celtic teammate Shin Yamada signed for Belgian side OH Leuven on loan. Both men have been linked with a move away from Parkhead during the transfer window.
Celtic boss resigned to losing Japanese duo
After a successful season with Celtic and a strong World Cup with Japan, forward Maeda has recently outlined his ambitions to play at a higher level. However, as he name checked the Premier League in a recent interview, this may go against West Ham if he’s the mystery man. He told PIVOT: “Since I went to Celtic, I became interested in the Premier League. I started watching a lot of Premier League games. I have a strong desire to play in the Premier League.”
Meanwhile Hatate fell out of favour towards of the end of the season despite being a standout performer for Celtic in recent years. The midfielder has subsequently expressed he’s seeking a move elsewhere. Speaking at Celtic’s warm weather training camp in Portugal manager Martin O’Neill admitted he’d be surprised to see the duo stay at the club. He said: "I think there's some resignation in that aspect (for Maeda).
“It isn't one of those where he's got a year left to run and we want to try and make something of it in the sense of getting money. I think that Reo has done exceptionally well at the football club since he arrived. People have said he might even have been the best player in Scotland two or three years ago. I think myself that he's probably looking to maybe see if there's new pastures for him.
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