Celtic have confirmed the signing of Japanese defender Yuki Kobayashi on a five-year deal.
The former Vissel Kobe player becomes the Scottish champions fifth signing from the J-League, following in the footsteps of Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda who starts for Japan against Germany in Wednesday’s World Cup clash.
Manager Ange Postecoglou also came from the Japanese topflight when he left Yokohama Marinos to join the Hoops in 2021.
Celtic said they are “delighted” with the signing, which was confirmed with a statement on their official website.
The 22-year-old will be able to join up with his new Celtic teammates from December 1, and will be eligible to play competitively once the registration window opens in January.
Kobayashi says he is “excited” to get going with the Premiership league leaders.
He said: “I am so excited to be joining Celtic and I am really looking forward to this wonderful opportunity.
“I will be giving everything to try and be successful with the club.
“Right across the world, everyone knows what a special club Celtic is and it will be a real honour to wear this fantastic jersey.
“The work of Ange Postecoglou is also really well-known in Japan after he had such a great time in the J-League, and as well as being part of Celtic I can’t wait to work with him as a coach and the great team of players he has already developed.
“I know that Celtic over so many years has such a brilliant track record of success and I now want to play my part in bringing more great moments to the club and our fans.
“I would like to thank Vissel Kobe sincerely for all the support that has been given to me in the early part of my career and now I look forward to embracing this exciting new challenge with Celtic, one of the world’s great football clubs.”
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