Mail Online

Naka’s Euro memories inspire new Bhoy Yuki

By MARK WILSON

AFIRE was lit under Yuki Kobayashi’s ambitions when, as an awestruck young player, he listened to Shunksuke Nakamura’s stories of Champions League nights with Celtic. As the latest Japanese addition to Ange Postecoglou’s squad, Kobayashi yesterday arrived in Glasgow to begin training with his new club prior to being available to play in January. The former Vissel Kobe centreback is eager to make his mark on European football after signing a five-year contract. And he has revealed how former Celtic favourite Nakamura provided the inspiration for a desire to spread his wings at the top level of the game. In 2020, aged 19, Kobayashi was loaned out to Yokohama FC, where a 41-year-old Nakamura was still showing extraordinary longevity in the J-League. While he couldn’t then have imagined ended up in Scotland, the defender relished hearing Nakamura speak of his favourite memories from Europe’s premier club competition. ‘He was at Yokohama and he talked about the experiences he had in the Champions League,’ said Kobayashi. ‘At that moment, I never thought I was going to play for Celtic, so I didn’t ask too much about the club. But he really sold it and told me about the happiness and joy he had in the Champions League. ‘Of course, he had a fantastic career. Being able to listen to someone who had those top-level experiences was really great and exciting for me as a young player. From my perspective, it helped me to design my career.’ The expiry of his old contract has now led Kobayashi to Celtic, who will be able to formally register him for action when the January transfer window opens. He becomes the fifth Japanese player in Postecoglou’s set-up and will be reunited with former team-mate Kyogo Furuhashi, who made the same switch from Kobe in the summer of 2021. Asked if he can also hit the ground running like Furuhashi, he added: ‘I have a confidence in myself and will prepare myself to my best standard to train hard. I play a different position to Kyogo but I think I can adapt quickly as he did. I will prepare myself to try and help the team.’ Kobayashi arrives at a particularly auspicious moment for Japanese football. The national team, which includes Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, has defeated superpowers Germany and Spain to book a place in the World Cup last 16. Capped at Under-20s level, Kobayashi has been following their heroics in Qatar and hopes Celtic could provide the perfect platform for him to feature in the next edition of the tournament. ‘Definitely, our national team is doing very well and I would like to play with them in the future,’ he added. ‘This is why I came to Celtic. To try to play well here and then hopefully be called up to the national team. I can have a lot of opportunities to be part of the squad. This is very important for me.’ With Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi also at Parkhead, Kobayashi (pictured) hopes he can rapidly acclimatise to a new country and different brand of football. ‘When I first heard of Celtic’s interest, I was very happy because I thought it was a good opportunity for me,’ he said. ‘Currently, Japanese players are having good results, so I had a really good impression of the club. Celtic is one of the most famous European clubs in Japan. ‘The fact we already have Japanese players here for a season helps me a lot. I can have a good adaptation to the club and the style of football.’ Kobayashi hopes to make the most of the four weeks of training in front of him before he can claim a place in Postecoglou’s matchday plans. ‘The manager is expecting me to be a strong defender — and to help the build-up and to support our playing style,’ he said. ‘I will just have to show my best performances to get those opportunities. I have one month to show myself in training.’ Postecoglou is delighted to have Kobayashi on board as his first mid-season addition and feels patience should be shown with the player’s development. ‘It’s good to have Yuki in,’ he said. ‘He’s someone I’ve been tracking this last 12 months in the J-League. ‘I felt it was a good opportunity to bring him in now and let him get bedded in to the club. He’s starting training now and will be available come January. But this allows us to ease him in and he’s one we’ll look at medium to long term. Whatever he contributes in the short term will be a

bonus.’

Football

en-gb

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/282896619647980

dmg media (UK)