Koki Mizuno

[vrossi46]

Can anyone tell me how it's beneficial for Koki Mizuno to remain at Celtic? Surely it must be very frustrating for him not to get any first team football. Why did Gordan Strachan buy him then... just to keep Nakamura happy? Surely it would be best for Koki to head back to the J-League and get game time under his belt. That way he'll have more chance to be considered for a spot in the Japan national squad.

[hibby1875]

It wouldn't be the first time Celtic have bought a talented player, only to let him rot in the reserves or if he's lucky, on the bench. Usually it's just to buy dangerous talent off of other Scottish sides, so they can't cause Celtic any damage - see the player in my Sig and Chris Killen for another. :(

As for Mizuno, I've heard nothing of him and it doesn't look like he's even 3rd choice for his position. Time for him to GTFO methinks, at least to a team that has a policy of playing young talent regularly - maybe Hibs? :D

[mofomikrus]

Looks like he got his first start. I got this from Japanball.com:

Soccer: Morimoto nets twice in Italy, 1st for Mizuno in Scotland

CATANIA, Italy - Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto scored his
first goals of the season with a brace in Catania's Serie A victory
while compatriot Koki Mizuno marked his first start in a Scottish
Premier League match with a goal for Celtic on Sunday.

Morimoto got his first goal in Italy's top division since August
last year in the 40th minute when he raced onto a long pass, superbly
controlled the ball with his right foot and slipped it past the
advancing keeper for the second goal in his side's 3-2 win over AS
Roma.

Source: http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13611

I hope this is a sign that he will have more time on the pitch. He's a great player. I miss watching him play in Japan.