Vissel Kobe defender Yuki Kobayashi WILL join Celtic according to reports in his homeland as Ange Postecoglou looks set to kickstart his January recruitment drive.
The 22-year-old defender looks set to become the fifth player from Japan to fall under the Australian's reign in Glasgow's east end when the winter window opens, with his contract in the J-League now expired following the conclusion of the 2022 league season. It was a fast start to the mid-season window last term at Celtic Park, with Japanese trio Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi all signed and in place by January 1, and the Scottish Premiership champions look to have taken the same approach with Kobayashi.
Japanese outlet Next, based in Kobe, report that a Vissel club representative had little optimism when discussing the prospect of the centre-back staying with the club and penning a new contract. When quizzed on a potential move to Celtic, the unnamed executive offered a blunt response stating: "It's hard to keep him now."
