Yosuke Ideguchi hopes to emulate the success of his countryman Kyogo Furuhashi by racking up a consistent run of games at Celtic.
The 25-year-old arrived at Celtic Park along with Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate in a Hogmanay 2021 triple J-League transfer raid by Ange Postecoglou.
He has been capped 15 times for Japan but has yet to really make an impact in Scotland with an early injury and the form of his teammates limiting any game time. Despite Postecoglou naming Ideguchi the ‘hardest worker’ in training.
But with Japan qualifying for the World Cup, hitting the ground running at club level could also increase his chances of featuring for Hajime Moriyasu's side at Qatar 2022.
Speaking to the Celtic View, he said: “I want to secure my position in the Celtic team, to play every game constantly and have a consistent run.
“Joining the club at the same time as Reo and Daizen helped me because I want to contribute alongside them as much as I can.
“Before we signed, Kyogo was big news in Japan with the way he was performing here and I hope I can do the same.”
Ideguchi opened up on making his Celtic debut as a substitute in a 2-0 victory over Hibernian in January, labelling it his favourite moment so far.
He added: “I remember the first time I stepped on to the pitch at Celtic Park, that’s been my favourite moment so far and it was something that was really special.
“I want to secure my position in the team, to play every game constantly and have a consistent run.”
The domestic campaign restarts next weekend following the international break as Celtic travel across Glasgow to face arch-rivals Rangers at Ibrox.
Celtic lead the Scottish Premiership by three points with just seven games to go.
