Ange Postecoglou admitted he signed Tomoki Iwata because of his strength and aggression when he first landed the player last year.
The Yokohama F.Marinos star looks certain to become the latest Japanese ace to move to Celtic, with reports in his homeland suggesting a loan with an option to buy deal is almost complete. Iwata - the J League Player of the Year- was in the Japanese third tier as a youngster with Oita Trinita before winning successive promotions into their top flight. That caught the eye of Postecoglou who snapped him up in January 2021 in what would be his last season as a manager in Japan.
And the Australian boss underlined then why Iwata's attributes grabbed his attention as he prepares to join compatriots Kyogo, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yuki Kobayashi and Yosuke Ideguchi. He explained: "Tomoki has been a player I have been watching for some time. I saw a player who was excellent in many positions - that's why I signed him. He can play at the bottom of the midfield as an anchor or as a central defender. He is very comfortable as a right back or a right midfielder too.
