'Celtic offer flattered me' - the Japan star who turned down Ange Postecoglou reveals why

Kaoru Mitoma has revealed his reasons for turning down Celtic in favour of a move to Brighton.

The Japanese international was one of the first transfer targets identified by Ange Postecoglou following his appointment as Celtic manager in the summer of 2021.

Postecoglou had watched the winger up close in the J-League during his time in charge of Yokohama F.Marinos with Mitoma excelling at rivals Kawasaki Frontale.

However, while Mitoma insists he gave serious consideration to Celtic, the offer to play in the Premier League with Brighton proved too good to turn down and he completed a £2.5million move to the Seagulls instead.

Former Celtic target Kaoru Mitoma in action for Brighton during their weekend win at Chelsea. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Mitoma has since shown what Celtic missed out on, proving to be a major hit at the Amex by scoring 10 goals and contributing seven assists in 31 appearances in all competitions to earn reported interest from the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Real Madrid.

On the offer from Celtic, Mitoma told Optus Sports: “I was flattered, but I also knew that the Premier League has the highest level of football in the world.

“This was why I accepted Brighton’s offer straight away. I did give some time to think about Celtic too, however, my desire to play in the strongest league in the world was very high, as well as my desire to play with and against the best players in the world.”

Celtic boss Posteocglou has since gone on to sign six players from the J1 League with Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwate and Yosuke Ideguchi all currently on the books.