Shin Yamada could be called upon to lead the line for Celtic tomorrow against Livingston. The Japanese striker was signed to little fanfare given his goal record.
The attacker was dubbed a project signing by Brendan Rodgers, who said that he needed to assess the player before deciding upon his role for the team. In light of Celtic’s transfer inactivity, Shin has been involved with the first team and even came on in the 0-0 draw against Kairat Almaty.
In an update on Friday afternoon, Brendan confirmed that Celtic will be without Adam Idah, who has been struggling with a knee issue. Daizen Maeda is also a doubt having left the field limping slightly on Wednesday. The manager will likely not risk Maeda, especially given the importance of Tuesday.
Shin will fancy his chances at being given a start but faces competition from Johnny Kenny. The Irishman is rated by the manager, even if he is still very raw. The fact that Shin was given the nod ahead of Kenny suggests that the manager may be considering him to lead from the front.
Callum Osmand is another player that might feature. The youngster was on the bench in the week and could be called upon given the limited attacking options at present.
Give the guy a chance. If Brendan is playing politics, which certainly looked like he was, then he was out of order by not giving Shin an earlier chance. He will not be any worse than Adam Idah for sure and Johnny Kenny looked all over the place when he got a chance last time he played. It’s a no-brainer. Give Shin a go.