Celtic's Far East stars are set for a homecoming this summer as the Hoops prepare for a pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.
Japanese aces Kyogo, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata will get the chance to impress in their own country in friendly clashes with boss Ange Postecoglou’s former club Yokohama F Marinos and J-League big guns Gamba Osaka. Maeda and Iwata enjoyed success at Marinos along with the Celtic manager while Kyogo and Kobayashi starred for Vissel Kobe, along the coast from Osaka.
Frontman Oh Hyeon-gyu will also have an opportunity to return to South Korea, with Celts heading to Suwan – just outside Seoul – for a glamour bounce game with English Premier League outfit Wolves in the World Cup Stadium. The trip will be special for the Hoops Far East contingent but fans will be hoping Postecoglou is on board – with the manager a man in demand this summer. After announcing the tour, the Celtic gaffer said: “We are really looking forward to our summer tour to Japan, and we’re sure it will be hugely successful for the club and excellent preparation for next season.
“Clearly, Celtic has a real, long-standing connection with Japan, through previous visits and players such as Shunsuke Nakamura and, of course, now through our current squad members. So it will be great to visit and really bring this relationship to life.
“As we saw from our brilliant visit to Australia last year, the appetite for Celtic globally is huge and it is right that we maximise these great opportunities and show the world all that is great about our club. We wanted to pay respect to Japanese football so we are delighted to be engaging with the J-League and its clubs.
"Gamba Osaka are a proud club with great traditions. I’m especially pleased that both they and Yokohama F Marinos will provide excellent Japanese opposition for Celtic this summer.”
Celtic have also lined up a clash with Athletic Bilbao for James Forrest’s testimonial at Celtic Park on Tuesday August 1. Beforehand, they have a Scottish Cup final with Inverness CT on June 3rd.
Celtic in the Far East
Yokohama F Marinos, Nissan Stadium, Wednesday July 19 (kick-off 11am GMT)
Gamba Osaka, Panasonic Stadium, Saturday July 22 (kick-off 11am GMT)
Wolverhampton Wanderers, Susan World Cup Stadium, Wednesday (kick-off 11.30am GMT)
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