Celtic look poised to sign Japanese central defender Hayto Inamura, with Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports now adding weight to the likelihood of the 23-year-old ball playing defender signing for Celtic imminently.
‘Sky Sports News understands discussions have progressed well today and the 23 year old is keen to join the Scottish champions. Inamura is a left footed centre back who can also play at left back,’ Anthony Joseph
Celtic are in talks to sign Albirex Niigata centre-back Hayato Inamura. @SkySportsNews understands discussions have progressed well today and the 23-year-old is keen to join the Scottish champions.
Inamura is a left-footed centre-back, who can also play at left-back. pic.twitter.com/N6GtXKpdJb
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) June 16, 2025
Anthony Joseph’s update comes on the back of yesterday’s news which we broke on The Celtic Star that sources in Japan were reporting that Hayato Inamura was set to undergo a medical ahead of signing a contract with Celtic.
The Herald’s Stephen McGowan was first to report in Celtic interest in the player while Japanese publication Sponichi Annex had also linked Celtic with the player, with the Japanese publication going as far as to claim a medical would soon follow and claiming ‘multiple sources’ had confirmed the deal’s progression, as per our report yesterday.
This summer’s transfer window only opened officially yesterday, but with a deal already secured for Kieran Tierney to return to the club, and Benjamin Nygren’s move from FC Nordsjælland also said to be progressing – to the point Celtic’s rivals for the playmaker’s signature Anderlecht had accepted Celtic was Nygren’s preference – then Celtic look to be making a concerted effort to get at least some of their transfer business done in time for the start of pre-season.
A Big Summer for Michael Nicholson – Front and Centre in Celtic’s Transfer Business
After last summer’s protracted transfer dealings for the likes of Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo, despite both players having been on loan at the club the previous season, all eyes were on Celtic, and in particular CEO Michael Nicholson.
The hope was lessons had been learned and Celtic would have a well-supported transfer strategy in place this time around, which could only help avoid the overpaying for players we perhaps saw last summer, as we moved into the last days of the transfer window hoping to find value, but ultimately finding the selling club in a stronger position than ourselves.
Transfer Window – Early signs are encouraging
Early signs are encouraging. However, as ever with Celtic, you wait with bated breath in the hope these deals can be concluded and Brendan Rodgers can have some news faces in situ to allow for a goo pre-season and a chance to bed in new players ahead of a title defence and those imminent Champions League qualifying games.
Niall J
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