29 Jun 2025 10:13:38
Hayato Inamura medical booked for next week.
Not sure how good a defender he is but he has plenty of speed, technical ability, good feet and vision, great range of passing and composure.
If we do sign him, I would bring Kyogo back as this boy would spot his runs and play him in from defence.
He looks like the type of player I had been hoping for, as he will hopefully make our patterns of play less predictable. He can play under pressure, go past a man and can play it long with great accuracy if we want to play over the top of the press. He can also carry the ball which will help us break the lines.
29 Jun 2025 13:06:20
First and foremost can he defend because the last Asian defender was soft as butter.
{Ed007's Note - He's only 5ft 10 as well which worries me.}
29 Jun 2025 13:09:15
Can we leave Kyogo behind please.
Time for someone new.
29 Jun 2025 13:29:20
I'm not convinced that Japanese defenders are suited to Scottish football and with him only being 5'10 as a unit will we be any better at dealing with cross balls ?.
29 Jun 2025 13:51:32
I know zero about Inamura but at 5ft 10", I'd hope there are plans for a tall counterpart to play alongside him.
This is, on the basis that CCV could well leave during this window.
If CCV stays the our starting back 4 has 3 players under 6ft with CCV 6ft/ 6ft 1".
That's not ideal.
☘️ ☘️ ☘️.
29 Jun 2025 13:56:04
If we're unsure how good a defender he is, and that's the players position, that's not a good foundation to start with. Is he better than the defenders we have? I'd like to say I trust the Recruitment team but I can't.
29 Jun 2025 14:02:02
Ed that was my worry as well we need a couple of units we're far too light weight especially in the cl.
{Ed007's Note - ????
29 Jun 2025 14:38:54
Looking from the outside, I haven’t got an idea what this young Japanese defender will be like . Completely unfairly I don’t think he will make it, however BR and our scouts even with their eyes closed and ear plugs inserted in ears, know more about this player, Hayato Inamura, than I know and they certainly aren’t spending money for someone who isn’t capable of doing a job for us.
29 Jun 2025 14:57:33
I think too much is being made of the boy's height, Japanese players mostly are very athletic he may be able to jump higher, also he could be a good reader of the game and anticipate where he needs to be like the late John Clark, who also not the tallest knew exactly where he had to be on pitch to make a tackle.
Also one of our greatest goalkeepers Ronnie Simpson was only about 5ft 9in but again had a great spring to make a save.
I am prepared to give our new Japanese defender the benefit of the doubt.
29 Jun 2025 17:50:18
I think inamura plays lb too so maybe he is being brought in to play that position.
29 Jun 2025 19:07:38
I think he is being brought in to play backup to KT.
In regards to his height, the wee guy who played RB and we sold to a German club, who has just recently signed for the EPL Champions seemed to do ok.
{Ed007's Note - Why do you think that a player who started as a LB in college and youth football before being moved to play at CB - where he has played at in EVERY game of his professional career, all 36 of them - would be signed to cover at LB?
Throw in that Inamura has poke about being told by the Niigata fitness coach that he need to improve his physique and bulk up and it doesn't bode well for the SPFL at all.
I have no idea what Frimpong has to do with it, we've signed enough $hite CB's without comparing them to full-backs.}
29 Jun 2025 20:09:16
Inamora played his last game at home and got pumped 0-4.
29 Jun 2025 23:10:08
Is it possible that this signing indicates we may well move to 3 at the back?
30 Jun 2025 09:45:56
I thought the Inamora link was just lazy journalism but it seems to be legit. I can only go by what I have seen online and he looks very average and I don't have much faith in Japanese defenders ability to deal with the standard 6ft 4 inch forwards in Scotland.
30 Jun 2025 00:30:06
ED
I mentioned Frimpong due to the fact that people were going on about the height of Inamura.
In regards to the position he plays, any report I read mentioned that he can play both LB and CB, since we don't have cover for KT I expect that he will have more chance of being cover at LB considering as you mentioned, he have enough CB's already at the club.
When he does sign, there is no way he plays before Trusty or Scales so that makes him 3rd choice on the left.
And in regards to his previous career, sorry but I don't follow Japanese football, never mind Japanese college football to know where he played before.
{Ed007's Note - Inamura is a CB, since turning professional he has never played a game at LB, we scouted him as a CB, all his data/stats are as a CB. There's a couple of articles about him last year that mention he used to play as a LB until he moved to CB - somehow that has become "Inamura" can also play at LB" by some Celtic sites & fans.
A better comparison would be, are the PAOK fans saying "Greg Taylor can also cover as CDM" because he played there as a kid.
30 Jun 2025 11:56:45
We wouldn’t be signing this athletic defender may be groomed to relieve Cal McGregor from his more defensive dutie . I know that B R hasn’t showed any signs of playing a defensive midfielder up to now but he may think this boy may fit his idea defensive centre back.
I wouldn’t be happy if we went for a back 3 using Inamora as one because in practice it might be a two and a half .
. Timalloy, I remember well John Clark playing along side Caesar. The game was very different then . Most teams hadn’t yet got used to playing 2 centre backs and were still playing 2 fullbacks, a centre back with 4 and 6 forming midfield. The teams that had a Clark type player used him more as a sweeper than a joint centre half, as I can remember.