DAIZEN MAEDA has welcomed another fellow countryman to Celtic after Hayato Inamura sealed his move to Glasgow last night.
The Celtic frontman has already played with four Japanese players at Parkhead since moving to Scotland in 2022.
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Now he’s onto his fifth Japanese team-mate after sharing the pitch with Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi, Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi.
Inamura, 23, penned a four-year deal with the Scottish champions after leaving his previous club Albirex Niigata to jet across the globe for his first stint in Europe.
It’s understood Celtic paid around £250,000 to snap him up.
He was in attendance at the City Stadium last night to watch the friendly against Queen‘s Park – less than two hours after he was unveiled by the Hoops.
Maeda, 28, wasn’t there, though, as he was given an extended break following his international exploits along with several of his team-mates.
But he has since caught up with the club’s latest recruit at Lennoxtown for their first training session together.
And he made sure to give him a proper welcome in Glasgow as he posted a picture of the defender with a message to fans back in their homeland.
Sharing it on his Instagram story, he wrote: “Dear Niigata!!! He’s fine.”
Inamura might be training with Maeda and Co for now but the left-sided centre-back is not expected to feature in the first team right away.
On his arrival, Brendan Rodgers said: “He won’t be part of the first team.
“We’ll assess and see where he’s at as a young player. Then it’s whether he stays with the squad or whether he has to go out on his own (on loan).”
Inamura will wear the number 25 at Parkhead in tribute to Celtic and Japan legend Shunsuke Nakamura.
The defender said: “Many Japanese players have had success at this club. Across the world, this is a massive club and is really well known. I am truly excited to be joining Celtic. It’s a huge opportunity for me.
“So far, even the current Japanese players have been performing at a high level. I think that is why there are expectations on Japanese players. I really want to live up to those expectations and do my best.
“The reason why I chose 25 is because out of the options I was given, that one really stood out to me.
“Then obviously regarding Nakamura, I used to imitate his kicking style when I was a kid. He was one of my favourite players.”
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