How the Celtic effect helped Hearts lure latest new signing to Tynecastle

Celtic’s success in bringing Japanese quality to the Scottish Premiership has made it easier for clubs like Hearts to lure players from the J-League, according to Gorgie boss Robbie Neilson.

New Hearts signing Yutaro Oda arrives at the Oriam. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

He says that seeing the likes of Kyogo Furuhasi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda thrive in Glasgow has also helped eliminate some of the risk associated with plugging into a market that had been previously gone fairly untapped.

“Potentially, when you go into a market you don’t really know, it’s always good to measure it against players who have come over.

“You see the majority of the ones at Celtic have done very well, that tells us it’s a league that can compete here as well.

“And, in Japan, I'm pretty sure they will see the Celtic players and have ambition to get to Europe. That probably helped with us bringing him [Yutaro Oda] in.

“It's a market that offers value for money. It's a very good level with good players, some who we think we have an opportunity to get because of the value in them. A lot of them are very keen to come to Europe as well. It's very similar to Australia.”

With three Aussies on the books and another on the way, if the Garang Kuol deal is processed as planned, Hearts have also dabbled in the Japanese game before, bringing Ryotaro Meshino on loan in recent years.

But, while the Manchester City loanee failed to make a massive impact as the team struggled, the capital club believe that 21-year-old Yutaro Oda is a burgeoning star.

Signed this week, Neilson said that although Oda and fellow newcomer James Hill will be available for Friday night’s hosting of St MIrren, he intends to take it slowly when integrating the striker.

"It's football and they are playing at a very good level over there. Oda has played for Japan Under-21s and scored goals in the top flight. There's no doubt he’ll have the quality to play here. It's just trying to get him settled as quickly as possible.”

That is easier thanks to the internet and mobile phones which aid connectivity. The multi-cultural vibe of the capital is also beneficial, according to Neilson, with so many people already reaching out to welcome the pacey Japanese youngster, who can play through the middle or wide of the attack.

“It’s not even like 10-15 years ago when players were coming over here and there was no connection,” explained the Hearts boss who is hoping to add another couple of signings before the end of the month.

“He can get the same food he wants here, the culture. There’s a big Japanese community in Edinburgh and we have had people reaching out to us offering to help him settle in.

“So I don’t see it being a problem. For me, it’s more about making sure he gets up and running quickly, he gets a flat, a car, he gets settled, he gets areas he can go and meet people and get food. And then it’s about getting his fitness levels up.

“Like any player who comes in, we want him starting but we have to be careful not to put people in too early. I would expect him, over the next couple of weeks, to gradually get more game time.”