Ange Postecoglou says Celtic have stolen a march on rival clubs when it comes to signing Asia’s top talent. The Parkhead gaffer has already snared Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Tomoki Iwata, Yuki Kobayashi and Hyeon-gyu Oh from Japan and South Korea respectively.
And Postecoglou says their positive experience in Glasgow will help Celtic entice more stars from the Far East. Also, the Hoops boss is convinced the club’s summer tour in Asia - which was confirmed last week - will only broaden their reach when it comes to attracting the best players from that part of the world.
The likes of Hearts and Motherwell signed players from Japan this season after seeing the success Celtic had exploring that market.
And Hibs’ new director of football, Brian McDermott, has vowed to find the new Kyogo in his role at Easter Road. But Postecoglou has warned other clubs that if they want to pluck top players from Japan in particular - Celtic will be ahead of them in the queue.