Breaking News: Brendan Rodgers has give up signed his resignation letter few minutes ago

Breaking News: Brendan Rodgers has give up signed his resignation letter few minutes ago

On the face of it, the prospect of Birmingham City venturing north of the border when they were reshaping their squad in the summer transfer window was hardly surprising. Consider that Tomoki Iwata was brought to the UK – and to Celtic – by Ange Postecoglou and spent the majority of his time at Parkhead performing under successor Brendan Rodgers.

 

Consider, also, that Blues boss Chris Davies worked under both Postecoglou and Rodgers, the latter during his first, decorated spell in charge of the Bhoys before he embarked on his own managerial adventure. “Their close relationship was probably a factor, as the move largely came out of the blue,” Football.Scotland reporter Ryan McDonald told us of the move.

The culmination of the transfer window was so busy for Blues – and much of it geared around the efforts to bring back Jay Stansfield before the deadline – that many Blues supporters might’ve been forgiven for overlooking Iwata’s arrival; the club had made moves for Ayumi Yokoyama, Scott Wright and Lyndon Dykes, as well as Iwata, before sealing Stansfield’s return, and initially he was one of many new faces.

 

READ: Blues squad value handed £5m boost after Knighthead transfer spend

 

READ: Academy star aims jibe at Blues to stir League One promotion pot

 

Iwata has since established himself in the starting XI and asserted his quality. You almost feel sorry for Marc Leonard, who for all the world looked as though he was quickly striking a partnership up with Paik Seung-ho in the early part of the season, and even now it’s a reassuring thought that he remains the next cab off the rank, but for now the spot is unquestionably Iwata’s.

“If I could describe Tomoki in one word it would be solid,” McDonald tells us, reflecting on the player’s relatively short-lived stay in Glasgow. “He was dependable and never let the club down. He was mainly utilised as a holding midfielder but Postecoglou did take advantage of his versatility by deploying him at centre-back on occasion, most notably in the treble-clinching 2023 Scottish Cup final.”

 

It is useful to know that Iwata can operate even deeper if required. Thankfully, Blues are stacked at centre half and ironically kept their first clean sheet of the season this past weekend without two options available to Davies. For the time being, you don’t foresee that being an issue, nor there being a scenario on the horizon where Iwata is asked to utilise that particular string on his bow.

 

“His monstrous physique was perfect for the Scottish game and he did a job whenever called upon,” McDonald adds. Yep, that certainly helps with the rough and tumble of League One, which is certainly seeing more of a sea-change towards ball playing teams compared to even five or 10 years ago, yet still challenges a player’s physical attributes. Iwata is also used to playing in a side that dominates the ball against every opponent in their league.

 

While Celtic last season boasted the likes of Reo Hatate, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley – who has since moved onto Brighton this past summer – Iwata often settled for substitute appearances. His campaign last year was disrupted by injuries too, but he still featured 24 times, started at Ibrox in the 3-3 Glasgow Derby draw and featured in Madrid in the Champions League defeat to Atletico.

 

“He never really established himself as a regular at any stage of his Celtic career,” McDonald reasons. “Postecoglou brought him to Glasgow in January 2023 after working with him at Yokohama F. Marinos, and then Rodgers was at the helm six months later.