Bad news for Idah: Celtic set to complete another "fantastic" signing
Celtic’s generally positive results in pre-season continue.
On Wednesday night, Brendan Rodgers’ side beat Primeira Liga champions Sporting CP 2-0 at Estádio Algarve, with Reo Hatate breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot, before substitute Luke McCowan came off the bench to secure victory.
That makes it three wins out of four in pre-season, after the Hoops enjoyed victories over both Queen’s Park and then Cork City, the sole blot on their copybook so far a 3-2 defeat to Estrela da Amadora last weekend, albeit that was played behind-closed-doors.
Now, ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Newcastle United at Parkhead, the 10,000 Geordies who are making the 139-mile journey north to Glasgow will ensure there is a great atmosphere at that one, but will Celtic have made an exciting new signing by then?
Celtic seeking to add attacking talent
Following the aforementioned mid-week victory over Sporting, Rodgers confirmed that adding attacking reinforcements to his squad is the priority in this window, stating “we’ve lost a lot of goals, so we need to replace that”.
This comes after Nicolas Kühn joined Como for a reported fee of £16.5m earlier this month, while the Celts are also still searching for a Kyōgo Furuhashi replacement, after he was sold in January.
While the Hoops have already snapped up Swedish talent, Benjamin Nygren, they are now set to complete the signing of striker Shin Yamada for £1.2m, as noted by Graeme Young of the Daily Record,
The 25-year-old, who helped Japan win the EAFF E-1 Football Championship earlier this week, said goodbye to supporters of his current club Kawasaki Frontale, with the Sky Blue and Black confirming he will now finalise a move to a ‘foreign club’.
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So, will he prove to be Celtic’s next Japanese sensation?
How Shin Yamada will improve Celtic
Upon his arrival, following the prior capture of Nygren, Yamada will become the ninth Japanese player in Celtic’s history.
Shunsuke Nakamura
2005-09
159
Kōki Mizuno
2008-09
12
Tomoki Iwata
2022-24
42
Yūki Kobayashi
2023
7
Yosuke Ideguchi
2022
6
Kyōgo Furuhashi
2021-2025
165
Reo Hatate
2022-present
142
Daizen Maeda
2022-present
158
As the table outlines, he will be following in the footsteps of a few modern-day Celtic greats, linking up with new teammates Hatate and Daizen Maeda.
Yamada began his senior football career at college side Toin University of Yokohama, before moving to J League side Kawasaki Frontale three years ago, bagging 32 goals in 121 appearances for the club, most notably helping them reach a first-ever AFC Champions League Final back in April.
Data scientist Ryo Nakagawara labels Yamada a “fantastic” talent, as well as describing him as a ‘natural finisher’, praising his ‘excellent movement’ and ‘quick acceleration’, assertions that are supported by his statistics in the J League last season.
Goals
19
3rd
Goals per 90
0.85
1st
Goals + assists per 90
0.98
1st
Shots
80
12th
Shots on target
37
5th
Shots on target %
46.3%
10th
Big chances missed
14
8th
As outlined, Yamada was prolific in the J League last season, made all the more impressive by the fact that his team finished eighth, closer to relegation than champions Vissel Kōbe.
Meantime, according to Global Football Rankings, the J League is the 23rd strongest division in the world, a whopping 20 places above the Scottish Premiership.
Now though, the question remains, will he be a better starting centre-forward option than the current occupant of this position, Adam Idah?
The Republic of Ireland international’s performance against Sporting on Wednesday night was widely criticised, with Rodgers himself stating that the striker “needs to come alive”, calling for him to “have authority in the box”, intimating he is open to an alternative solution.
Minutes
2,012
2,168
Goals
19
16
Assists
3
0
Shots
80
88
Shots on target %
46.3%
48.9%
Big chances missed
14
19
Big chances created
6
6
Average Sofascore rating
7.06
6.93
As the table outlines, during the timeframes included, Yamada comes out on top for the majority of metrics.
The Japanese striker scored more goals, registered more assists and missed fewer big chances than the Irishman, while doing so for a side who are exponentially less dominant relative to their competition.
Thus, if Idah continues to flatter to deceive, all available evidence suggests the incoming Yamada deserves the opportunity to stake a claim for the starting nine number spot.
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