Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is eyeing up another Japanese raid - with Ryotaro Ito on the club’s radar.
The Hoops boss is looking to strengthen the middle to front of areas of his treble-chasing squad this summer. Postecoglou is keen to bring in younger options to his squad and is looking to the Far-east again. Postecoglou’s scouting team are looking at a number of Japanese players again and Ito is one they have looked at. The 25-year-old has played a key role in helping Albirex Niigata return to the J-League.
The midfielder was named as one of the top players in the J2 League last year. Ito has previously been at Urawa Red Diamonds where he won a J League Cup and the AFC Champions League. The Australian has his finger on the pulse in the Japanese market from his time in charge of Yokohama Marinos. Postecoglou is also aware some of his own top talents could be targeted in big-money moves come the break.
Japan has been a goldmine for Postecoglou and it is a market that the Celtic scouts are continuing to look at closely. It has brought them success with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and more recently Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi.
Celtic have also moved further into the Asian markets with striker Oh Hyeon-gyu. The Scottish champions are going to cash in on that in the summer with pre-season tours of Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the Hoops have also been linked with Colombian winger Diego Valoyes at Argentine club Talleres.
