Glasgow Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has said one new Hoops player is “not quite at the level” to play in the Champions League.
Celtic facing Kairat Almaty in Champions League qualifier
The Hoops have had a solid start to the Scottish Premiership season, winning both of their opening games, and are now looking to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
Rodgers, who has so far made seven new signings this summer, is preparing his side to take on Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan in a two-legged tie.
Celtic’s summer signings so far
From
Fee
Benjamin Nygren
FC Nordsjaelland
£2m
Shin Yamada
Kawasaki Frontale
£1.5m
Hayato Inamura
Albirex Niigata
£250,000
Kieran Tierney
Arsenal
Free
Ross Doohan
Aberdeen
Free
Callum Osmand
Fulham
Undisclosed
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
Man City
Loan
Celtic and Rodgers have already named their Champions League squad, but there is no room for one new name.
New Celtic signing not ready for Champions League, says Rodgers
Rodgers delivered a simple explanation of why summer signing Hayato Inamura was excluded from his Champions League squad.
The 23-year-old Japanese defender joined on a four-year deal from J-League side Albirex Niigata in June, having moved up a level from university football in 2024, but is yet to make his competitive debut.
Inamura will not do so in the Champions League play-off against Kairat Almaty after being left out of Rodgers’ squad.
“It’s very easy. He’s not quite at the level, as of yet, that I would expect,” the Celtic manager explained. “The plan for Ina was to come in and train and see where he was at, with the possibility of going out on loan, because he’s only had a year’s football.
“He came in as a centre-half/left-back, but his defensive qualities aren’t at the level that would see me put him in against Lamine Yamal if I had to. It’s as simple as that. So that’s why he’s not involved.
“He’s played in some really good games, against Cork and Queen’s Park, but the reality is that’s the level that we play, you get 80 per cent of the ball.
“But we also need a player that can defend. And we’re hoping that over the couple of years, with experience and with maybe a loan, that that can take place. But at this very, very moment, that’s why he’s not in the squad. It’s as simple as that.”
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