ANGE POSTECOGLOU has hinted there could be a debut opportunity for J-League Player of the Year Tomoki Iwata against Morton on Saturday.
The 25-year-old international anchorman arrived in Scotland last week after agreeing a five-year contract from Yokohama F Marinos with the first six months on a loan arrangement.
Postecoglou has resisted the temptation to throw the defensive midfielder into his first-team line-up the way he did when he fielded Canada World Cup right-back Alsitair Johnston in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox on January 2 – just 24 hours after his international clearance came through.
PARADISE…new Japanese Bhoy Tomoki Iwata could make his first appearance against Morton.
Iwata was a surprise inclusion on the substitutes’ bench in the 4-0 Premiership win over St Mirren at Parkhead lst night where his compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi thumped in a double, Reo Hatate shone throughout his time on the pitch and Daizen Maeda made a late substitute’s appearance.
New Japanese Bhoy Yuki Kobayashi also made his top-side bow in front of the Parkhead fans as he partnered Carl Starfelt in a new-look central rearguard.
Iwata is now standing by to get his first taste of Paradise in the Scottish Cup opener and Postecoglou, reflecting on the performance against the Paisley team, told Celtic TV: “We’ll look at how everyone pulls up from it.
WAITING GAME…Kyogo Furuhashi awaits VAR’s go-ahead for his second goal in the 4-0 win over St Mirren.
“It’s a short turnaround with the Saturday game – and a lunchtime game, as well – so we’ll look at it and see who’s looking good in training, who’s feeling good.
“But certainly we’ve got some players we can definitely bring in.
“I thought all the guys who came on tonight added some energy and I’m sure they’ll do that on the weekend, too.”
KYOGO AT THE DOUBLE IN HOOPS ROMP
