With four Japanese players on the books now, there is always the worry that whenever international matches come around, that Celtic now have the potential to lose these guys for a couple of weeks.
And the kind of fixtures that Japan are involved in means that not only are we needing to now deal with fixtures popping up during our season, but also the effects of long haul travel.
With the Japan national side looking to face Uzbekistan in the Kirin Cup Challenge, the Blue Samurai’s had originally called up both Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate for the tournament.
But an announcement this morning will be a massive boost to Celtic and Ange Postecoglou as both the new signings have been replaced in the squad which leaves them free to join up with their new team mates and be available for the second half of the season kicking off against Hibs at Celtic Park on the 17th January:
MAEDA Daizen and HATATE Reo have been replaced by two players from Shimizu S-Pulse – MATSUOKA Daiki and SUZUKI Yuito for the forthcoming Samurai Blue Kirin Challenge Cup v Uzbekistan
— JSoccer Magazine (@JSoccerMagazine) January 5, 2022
The JFA had previously announced that any players moving to Europe would be allowed to leave for their new destinations, and settle into their teams and not be called for this game.
— JSoccer Magazine (@JSoccerMagazine) January 5, 2022
However, with another two World Cup fixtures on the horizon against China on the 27th January and Saudi Arabia on the 1st February there could be selection issues ahead for the Hoops unless they apply for a postponement if Hatate, Maeda and Kyogo are all called up for these fixtures.