Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou signed Kyogo Furuhashi from the J-League; the Japan forward has scored six goals in his first five starts for the club; Celtic have agreed a £2.5m fee for Legia Warsaw right-back Josip Juranovic and the player is undergoing a medical
Friday 20 August 2021 20:19, UK
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou hopes to further utilise his knowledge of the J-League to strengthen his squad but feels the January transfer window is the best time to strike.
The former Yokohama Marinos head coach quickly secured the signing of Kyogo Furuhashi after arriving in Glasgow and the Japan forward has netted six goals in his first five starts.
Postecoglou cautioned that there was nobody else quite like his new striker in Japanese football but there are other targets he would like to explore.
"I have been looking at it very closely," the Greek-born Australian said. "I know the Japanese market very well.
"It's a tricky time because traditionally they are still mid-season. There's a lot of players I would love to have a look at closely and bring over but I know it would be almost impossible to get them out because clubs are still playing for the league or cup or (AFC) Champions League competitions. So they are very reluctant to let them go mid-season.
"Traditionally it's always been easier to get them out in our winter break, which is their end of season.
"There's a lot of talent there that people haven't realised.
"It's not to say they are all going to be of Kyogo's level because I was super confident about him. He has dominated that league for the last three or four years. I was surprised he hadn't left earlier to be honest, we were kind of lucky he stuck around for a bit.
"But there is definitely more talent there and it is definitely a market we are looking at closely."
Celtic have agreed a £2.5m fee with Legia Warsaw for right-back Josip Juranovic and are working on a deal for Shamrock Rovers centre-back Liam Scales expected to arrive shortly.
VVV-Venlo have also confirmed that Celtic are interested in their striker, Georgios Giakoumakis, who was the top goalscorer in the Eredivisie last season.
Postecoglou said: "Obviously the clock is ticking, we know when the transfer deadline is and we will be bringing in players before then but we can't say another deal has been done.
"But we are close on a number and hopefully over the coming days we will be able to bed them down and bring them in."
