Tokyo: Japanese Olympic striker Yuki Otsu appears bound for Celtic after the Scottish giants made an offer to German side Borussia Moenchengladbach, a Japanese sports daily reported on Friday.
The 22-year-old forward was the scorer when Japan pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Olympic football history last month, stunning reigning world and European champions Spain 1-0 in Glasgow.
Celtic were so impressed with the youngster’s performance that they put in a bid for him, with a formal transfer agreement expected to be announced within a few days, the online edition of Sports Nippon reported.
“We have been negotiating after receiving an offer from Celtic. When we settle the terms, his transfer will be fixed,” Sports Nippon quoted a person close to Otsu as saying.
The deadline for a transfer in Europe is the end of August.
Otsu, who scored three goals in six Olympics games, has struggled for playing time at Borussia where he played only three matches as a substitute and did not score.
Last week, Otsu told Borussia’s official site: “It will be fine if I can play games after gaining momentum at the Olympics. If it’s impossible, I may transfer on loan. I may leave the club. I want to talk to my coach.”
Otsu, who scored six goals in 57 games in the J-League first division before moving to Borussia in 2011, is a possible candidate for inclusion in the national team for the final round of Asian qualifying ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Fellow Japanese Olympic star Maya Yoshida looks set to sign with English Premier League side Southampton, Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper said.
The VVV-Venlo star has attracted interest from a number of teams in the prestigious league, the Mirror cited club boss Hans Soentjens as saying.
