“He surprised me,” Rodgers on new Bhoy Hayato Inamura

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The Celtic Star

·10 luglio 2025

“He surprised me,” Rodgers on new Bhoy Hayato Inamura

Hayato Inamura made his Celtic bow against Cork City on Tuesday evening and in the aftermath of that 45 minute display, his manager has revealed he could after all be part of his plans this year…

Hayato Inamura of Celtic Cork City v Celtic, Pre Season Friendly, SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork, Ireland – 08 Jul 2025Cork SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh Ireland. Photo Lorraine O’Sullivan Shutterstock

The Japanese star arrived without much fanfare recently from Albirex Niigata in the J-League, with nobody really knowing much about the player and how he crept onto the Celtic radar at this point. However, Rodgers has admitted that he will need to reassess his plans going forward, such was the impressive showing in Cork from Celtic’s new Bhoy.

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Inamura looked very comfortable and assured in possession against the Irish side and his quick feet and adept passing ability looked very promising indeed from that left-back position. Reportedly costing £250,000, it seemed a very strange transfer for the club to make, as Rodgers immediately stated that he wouldn’t be one for the first-team, but rather he would have to go out on loan to get minutes and aid his development further.

Now it looks as though the manager might just be thinking it useful if he keeps him around, judging by his initial impressions of the man who hasn’t played that much professionally since graduating from Japan’s university programme.

Speaking after the match on Inamura, Brendan said:

“100-per-cent. I’m not fixed on it. The plan was to bring him in, see how he does pre-season, thinking that he may need to get out and play. But I always judge players on the pre-season, on how they look and are they going to be capable. “He’s certainly in the few days training, he’s shown he’s so smooth with the ball. Not only that, he plays forward. I’ve got to say, he surprised me. In these first days training, he’s so competent with the ball. He’s a good size. His comfort on the ball, his willingness to attack is really good. So we’ll see how he looks over the remaining games.”

Hayato Inamura of Celtic reacts Cork City v Celtic, Pre Season Friendly, Football, SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork, Ireland – 08 July 2025 Cork SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh Ireland Photo Lorraine O Sullivan Shutterstock

With Kieran Tierney needing his minutes managed on his return to Celtic Park, the club are short of another left-back to share the heavy load. Traditionally a central defender to trade, Inamura has been used occasionally at left-back, despite his more prominent role being in the middle.

One of the major issues flagged in his scouting reports was that he lacks physicality in the challenge and in the air, much like his predecessor Yuki Kobayashi. However, perhaps a move out to left-back could be the key, as Hayato is over six foot, so could be of use in that area of the pitch moving ahead.

It will be very interesting to see how this one pans out over pre-season. But the early signs are good…

Paul Gillespie

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