Ange Postecoglou admitted he signed Tomoki Iwata because of his strength and aggression when he first landed the player last year.
The Yokohama F.Marinos star looks certain to become the latest Japanese ace to move to Celtic, with reports in his homeland suggesting a loan with an option to buy deal is almost complete.
Iwata - the J League Player of the Year- was in the Japanese third tier as a youngster with Oita Trinita before winning successive promotions into their top flight.
That caught the eye of Postecoglou who snapped him up in January 2021 in what would be his last season as a manager in Japan.
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