New Japanese centre back, Yuki Kobayashi, made his first start for the hoops last night in a 4-0 victory at Celtic Park for the home side to keep us 9 points clear at the top of the league.
Most would have expected Kobayashi to play alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers in the heart of defence, however, manager Ange Postecoglou stated pre-match that CCV had pulled up sore from the game at the weekend and wouldn’t feature against St Mirren.
He has since stated that CCV should be fit to play against Greenock Morton in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Saturday, but that he most likely won’t risk the powerful American international.
I think it’s likely that we will again see Kobayashi start at the weekend, although Starfelt might get a rest this time and Welsh or Jenz might get some game time.
And if Kobayashi performed like he did last night, then Celtic fans will be happy as he received an overall positive reaction last night on social media after the game.
He defended well and looked very calm and composed on the ball. His passing was also sharp and accurate.
I thought he did brilliantly to make up for Starfelt’s shocking pass straight to the St Mirren player, he stood the striker up and made a perfectly timed tackle to come away with the ball on the edge of the area.
I think having a left footed centre back playing at left centre back is really going to improve us, especially in terms of building our attacks from the back.
Take a look at the reaction below from Celtic fans to Kobayashi’s debut.
