The 25-year-old, who can play in defence or midfield, won the Most Valued Player (MVP) Award in the J-League last season for a series of excellent performances and Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, who signed Iwata for Yokohama from Oita Trinita in January 2021, has made his move to work with him once again. According to media outlet sponichi.co.jp, Celtic have brokered a loan deal for Iwata for the rest of the season with an option to buy for approximately £1million in the summer. They claim that Celtic have already secured a work permit for him and that he will undergo a medical in the UK before the deal is made official. Iwata helped Yokohama F Marinos win the J-League this season and is admired for his work rate and versatility. Although he missed out on Japan’s World Cup squad for this year’s tournament in Qatar, he has been capped four times for the Blue Samurai and is close to becoming a permanent fixture in Hajime Moriyasu’s squad. Iwata would become the sixth Japanese player at Celtic if the deal is completed. Postecoglou has already got Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi in his squad, while 22-year-old defender Yuki Kobayashi has agreed a five-year deal from Vissel Kobe and will officially join the defending cinch Premiership champions on January 1.
