The inside story on how Birmingham City left Celtic scratching their heads over Tomoki Iwata

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.

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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.

“He filled in at various points last season and was a steady influence in the middle of the park in Callum McGregor’s absence – as soon as he returned from injury, Iwata found himself benched again which illustrated exactly where he featured in the midfield pecking order. On a personal note, his departure came as no surprise as I never felt he was suited to Rodgers’ style of play.

“While he was good at recycling the ball, he was guilty of playing the safe option all too often. Judging by the social media reaction though, Celtic fans were left scratching their heads as to why such a useful squad player was allowed to leave the building on deadline day.”

Celtic fans scratched their heads, while neutrals in general might’ve reacted similarly to how Blues had ended up attracting Iwata from a side competing in the Champions League and down into League One. He’s by no means the only recruit who has sacrificed European football of some kind to join Blues in their adventure. In another world, Alfons Sampsted would have played at Old Trafford for Twente in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Simply, it outlines Knighthead’s spending power and attraction. It also signals their intentions for Blues in the long-term and gives an insight into how they’re selling Blues to prospective new signings, unveiling their grand plans and desire to restore the club’s top flight status and continue progressing on and off the pitch.

“It wasn’t that long ago that Iwata was named J1 League Player of the Year and when you consider that Reo Hatate and Kyogo struggle to get a game for the Japan national side, that’s no easy feat,” McDonald concludes.

“There’s no doubt that Iwata should be playing at a higher level in England but he’s probably bought into the project at Birmingham City and examined the bigger picture. It’s a big club with ambitious investors and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s earning more than he was pocketing at Celtic.”

Nobody connected with Blues would begrudge Iwata that if he continues in the same vein as he has begun.

Thank you to Ryan for his contribution. You can follow him on X @rmcd93.

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