The French Connection Becomes The Japanese Quadruple

Celtic Football Club has seen a huge changing of the guard this season. Long term CEO Peter Lawwell was replaced by Dom McKay (and then Michael Nicholson), iconic captain Scott Brown handed the armband to Callum McGregor, and Neil Lennon ended a 21 year association with the club as Ange Postecoglou was appointed boss.

Those changes, coupled with an unprecedented turnover in playing staff, have been a major part of the rebuild at Paradise. Now, as the rebuild enters its second phase, another change of guard has been complete. Indeed, the once lauded “French Connection” of Olivier Ntcham, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard have been replaced by an exciting Japanese quadrant in Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate.

Fans had high hopes for the “French Connection”, but the trio rarely played together

Kyogo has already made a blistering start to his Celtic career. He was the hero when the Bhoys lifted the Premier Sports Cup, netting two outstanding goals which took his tally to 16 at this midpoint in the season. A fan favourite, the striker looks an absolute steal at less than £5m.

The Rising Sun flag has already been seen at Celtic Park for a few months; it even featured in the club’s Christmas advert. Now, the impending arrival of the J1 League’s top goalscorer (Maeda), a two time title winner (Hatate), and international star (Ideguchi) has the potential for something special to be achieved. The new trio will work alongside their compatriot in Kyogo and familiar boss Postecoglou. That is sure to help them settle in Glasgow as they take the next step in European football.