BACK in late July, Shin Yamada, a £1.3million recruit from Kawasaki Frontale, was being tipped to fill the void left by compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi in the Celtic attack.
The champions hadn’t signed a replacement for the former fans’ favourite who had joined Rennes in a £10million switch six months earlier.
The spotlight was on Yamada who had impressed Brendan Rodgers on his debut after replacing Johnny Kenny at the interval against Saudi outfit Al-Ahli in the Como Cup third-place play-off.
THE ITALIAN JOB…Shin Yamada celebrates after scoring the decisive penalty-kick against Al-Ahli in the Como Cup in July.
The 25-year-old Japanese international frontman had a goal ruled out it a tight offside decision within 15 minutes of his arrival on the scene and, following a 1-1 stalemate, he kept his nerve in the penalty-kick shoot-out to sink the fifth and deciding effort from the spot.
Rodgers said: “I felt he worked really hard when he came on.
“He showed good composure, he’s very quick and strong.”
Mystifying, though, Yamada was left out Rodgers’ Europa League squad after the Hoops’ quickfire exit from the Champions League.
Appearances for the attacker were rare, but he did get the nod to play against Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend when he replaced Kenny on the hour mark.
Yamada couldn’t prevent a dismal 3-1 loss in what turned out to be Rodgers’ last match before his resignation the next day.
The speedy raider must have hoped for better luck with incoming Martin O’Neill as interim boss, but he was overlooked for the matchday squad against Falkirk in midweek.
ON THE MOVE…Shin Yamada in action against Hearts during his second-half appearance.
Unless Yamada had sustained an injury during his half-hour in Edinburgh, there was no explanation for his non-appearance in the player pool as Kenny started the game with 19-year-old Callum Osmand as the back-up striker on the substitutes’ bench.
Clearly, assistant Shaun Maloney had flagged up the summer capture from Fulham and the teen made his Hoops debut as a 77th-minute replacement for Sebastian Tounekti, one of the team’s scorers in the 4-0 triumph.
With Daizen Maeda edging back from injury following his cameo appearance on Wednesday and Kenny’s two goals, it looks as though the best Yamada can hope for on Sunday is a seat in the Hampden stand for the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final against Ibrox opposition.
Three months ago, there were hopes he could be the answer to the Kyogo void. Now it appears more likely he will be on his way – either on a permanent or temporary deal – in the January window.
