On August 30, former Japan national team midfielder Tomoki Iwata made a full transfer from Scottish first division club Celtic to English third division club Birmingham City. Some media outlets have reported on the player’s future, but officials from overseas clubs have reacted negatively to this. They have cited midfielder Tomoki Takamine, who made a full transfer from Kashiwa Reysol to Belgian first division club KV Kortrijk, as a comparison.
After playing for Oita Trinita and Yokohama F. Marinos, Iwata transferred from Yokohama F. Marinos to Celtic in January 2023. Although the J1 League MVP award winner was expected to perform well, he was unable to establish himself as a regular player, appearing in only 19 games in the Scottish first division in the 2023/24 season. He fell behind in the position battle with midfielder Reo Hatate and midfielder Callum McGregor, and did not play in any league matches this season.
Iwata made a permanent transfer to Birmingham on the final day of the transfer window, but some media reported that the player had the possibility of moving to Kortrijk. If Kortrijk remains in the first division in the 2023/24 season, they will acquire Takamine, who is a central midfielder by trade. In addition to acquiring Japan national team defender Haruya Fujii by exercising the purchase option, they also welcomed midfielder Takuro Kaneko from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.
As these media reports have caused a stir online, an official from an MLS (Major League Soccer) club shared his personal opinion, saying, “In other words, Takamine, a former Kashiwa player who joined Kortrijk this summer to play in the same position, was a lower priority for us to acquire than Iwata.”
Regarding the rumours that he would be involved in a dream transfer to Kortrijk after his decision to join Birmingham had been made, he dismissed them, saying, “Talking about it after the fact is not in anyone’s interest, and it’s disrespectful to the players who joined the club and those associated with them. It just seems like they’re boasting about their information network.”
