Mills delivers verdict on ‘huge’ potential Celtic signing after Sky update
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is rolling the dice on his Japanese transfer targets being able to acclimate to Scotland, according to Danny Mills.
The former England defender, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 56-year-old is taking a “big risk” by swooping for three foreign imports in the winter window.
As per Sky Sports (6 December), Celtic are targeting a January raid for Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, and Yosuke Ideguchi.
Postecoglou managed J-League side Yokohama F. Marinos from 2018 until earlier this year.
Mills insisted Celtic will have to “rely” on the Australian’s judgement as they look to wrest the Scottish Premiership back from rivals Rangers.
“It’s a huge culture change. It won’t be easy for any player to go from Japan to Scotland,” he told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“Postecoglou knows the players, of course, so that will be a huge factor in getting them settled. But it’s a really daunting transition and a big risk for Celtic.
“There’s the difference in countries, weather, culture, and the language barrier – all of those factors will play a part.
“But Celtic will have to rely on the manager. He knows them and he knows they are good footballers – it’s just up to them to fit in.”
Maeda, 24, finished as the top scorer in this season’s J-League after netting 23 goals in 36 games – and has previously worked with Postecoglou.
The trio are set to follow in the footsteps of Kyogo Furuhashi, who joined Celtic in the summer window.
The Japan international has scored 14 goals in 24 games since arriving from Vissel Kobe.
In other news, pundit fears Rangers could run away with the title after major update from Celtic.