New Celtic signing Tomoki Iwata scouted: What will he bring?

The 25-year-old became the Hoops' third winter signing on December 30 following the recent arrival of defenders Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston. 

Iwata links up with Ange Postecoglou’s side on an initial loan deal with a 'compulsory purchase clause included'. The club has confirmed he will join permanently on a long-term deal in the summer.

Capped four times for his country, Iwata becomes the sixth Japanese player at Celtic following Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and the recently-signed Kobayashi. 

Here, we take a closer look at Iwata’s playing style to assess where he will fit into the Celtic team…

Player profile

Iwata came through the ranks at his hometown club, Oita Trinita, making his debut in the J3 League in 2016. 

He played 121 times for Oita Trinita, helping them to promotion to the J2 League and then the J1 League, before catching the eye of the then Marinos manager, Ange Postecoglou, who signed him in January 2021. 

Despite only working with Iwata for a few months before becoming Celtic manager, Postecoglou will be re-signing a player whose stock continued to rise in the last 18 months. 

A mainstay in the Marinos side that finished second behind Kawasaki Frontale in 2021, Iwata was a standout performer this year, picking up J1 League’s player of the year as Marinos won the 2022 title under Postecoglou’s successor Kevin Muscat. 

Initially starting his career as a right-back, it is certainly accurate to describe Iwata as versatile. In 2021 for Marinos, he played 14 matches as a central defensive midfielder in the league but also lined up 12 times as a centre-back. 

This year in J1 League, Iwata was used more as a defender by Muscat, mostly a right-sided centre-back, playing 19 games there. He has still been used as a deep midfielder on more than one occasion too though, playing 12 games there this year. 

When he has been deployed in midfield at Marinos, Iwata has often played in a double pivot at the base of their 4-2-3-1 formation. 

In terms of his physical profile, Iwata is not the tallest, not for a centre-back anyway, at 5ft 10in. However, he is certainly not physically weak. He has a wide frame and stocky build. 

The charts give further insight into Iwata’s playing style from his minutes played in the 2022 J1 League.

The charts, which use Wyscout per-90-minute data converted into percentile ranks to compare him with other midfielders and defenders (minimum 1,000 minutes played), cover several attacking, possession and defending metrics.

The first chart compares him against centre-backs while the second ranks his numbers against defensive midfielders/central midfielders in Japan’s top flight. 

Defending 

Looking at the defensive sections first, we can see Iwata completed a high number of possession-adjusted interceptions in this year’s J1 League, 9.5 per 90, one of the highest numbers amongst both centre-backs and midfielders. 

Given Marinos were J1 League’s most ball-dominant side in 2022, averaging 60.2 per cent possession, it is not much of a surprise to see Iwata rank towards the bottom for volume defensive metrics such as shots blocked (0.55 per 90), defensive duels (5.44 per 90) and aerial duels (2.74 per 90). His 2.74 aerial duels are the one volume defensive metric that does rank highly when compared against other central midfielders.

In terms of his duel success, his defensive duel win rate of 68.72 per cent is around average for both a centre-back and among the best for a central midfielder. For aerial duels, he wins just 50 per cent, which sees him rank in the bottom quartile amongst other J1 League centre-backs. 

However, as mentioned he is only involved in under three per match so only lost roughly one per 90. His win rate also compares much more favourably in the midfielder chart where he is above the 75th percentile. 

If he was to play at centre-back then he may well need to be paired with a more aerially-dominant partner. 

However, given how well-stocked Celtic currently are at centre-back, it seems more likely that it will be as a defensive midfielder that Postecoglou utilises Iwata. If that is the case then any potential aerial issues would be less of a concern. 

What won’t be a concern, and something that is one of Iwata’s greatest assets, is his pace. 

Clocking the fourth-highest top speed in last season’s J1 League, Iwata’s pace allows him to cover in behind and recover if caught out of position. 

This ability has made him a perfect fit for Marinos' high line. Given that Celtic deploy a similar system, Iwata’s pace will certainly be an asset, whether he plays in midfield or defence. 

This pace, coupled with his stocky build, makes Iwata a powerful presence on the pitch. He will often look to step in front of his opponent to win the ball high, evidenced by his high number of interceptions per 90. When he does engage in duels, he is strong and aggressive. 

This is highlighted below, where he quickly engages his opponent who receives a long ball out wide. 

Moving in at speed to get tight, Iwata uses his upper-body strength to jostle for possession. On this occasion, he is able to knock the ball off his opponent and win a throw. 

Another example of Iwata’s pace being an asset when it comes to defending, this time from a deeper position, is shown below.

With the opposition breaking down Marinos' right side, he accelerates quickly to cover across, using his body well to then protect the ball before winning his side a throw-in. 

Possession

Iwata was the beating heart of Marinos' possession game that lead them to their second J1 League title in three years. 

He averaged the second-highest passes per 90 in the whole squad (71.34). Given he was an ever-present, he ended up with the highest number of total passes in the entire J1 League in 2022 (2,347).

Unsurprisingly, those numbers translate into high ranks for the possession section of his charts, particularly at centre-back where he is also above the 75th percentile for the volume of forward passes and progressive passes too. 

It's not just the volume of passes, Iwata’s accuracy rate is very impressive, even for more ambitious passes. His overall passing accuracy rate was 91.56 per cent while he boasted the highest accuracy rate for his progressive passes compared to other J1 League centre-backs (83.44 per cent). 

His key role in possession can also be evidenced in his just-under-average rank for dangerous passes in the midfielder chart. Despite playing most of his minutes at centre-back and in a deeper position when he did move up into midfield, Iwata still attempted just under one dangerous pass, a combination of through passes and key passes, per 90 (0.85). 

Comfortable and smooth on the ball, Iwata is predominately right-footed but is accurate off both feet, even at longer ranges, as shown in the below example. 

Receiving the ball on his left, Iwata takes just one touch before lofting a left-footed ball into the path of right-back Ryuta Koike in behind the opposition’s back line.  

It is no surprise that Iwata has been utilised further forward given his strengths on the ball. Even when playing as a centre-back, his playing style is more like a midfielder, always looking to play the ball quickly before then moving into space to receive it again. An example of this can be seen below:

From centre-back, Iwata gets to a loose ball in midfield, playing it first-time to Koike before then following his pass.

He takes up a position on the edge of the box, demanding the ball back from his team-mate. Koike is unable to find him with the return pass on this occasion but the passage of play showcases Iwata’s aggression in possession well. 

When does get into those more advanced areas, Iwata’s fine technical ability and excellent vision allow him to execute those more difficult passes, as can be seen in the below example from last year’s J1 League.

Again, taking up an aggressive advanced position in the right half-space from centre-back, Iwata turns a brilliantly weighted first-time pass in behind for winger Teruhito Nakagawa who hits the byline, pulling the ball back for a certain Daizen Maeda to tap home from close range. 

Iwata is also capable of progressing the ball through carries, as well as passes. His 2.01 carries per 90 (a combination of dribbles and progressive runs) see him rank just above the 50th percentile compared to midfielders but in the 91st when compared to centre-backs. 

Attacking 

Although his physical attributes and his ability on the ball are Iwata’s greatest strengths, he does still chip in with a goal or an assist. 

His two goals and one assist in last season’s J1 League don’t see him rank too highly for goal contributions or expected goals contributions (he registered 1.47 xG and 0.85 xA last season). 

However, the goal contributions Iwata did come up with showcased further his fine technical ability.

His assist, for example, was a brilliantly executed first-time cross that picked out team-mate Leo Ceara, who was able to head home a crucial late equaliser. 

One of his two goals last season was also a well-struck effort from range that added a second on the night for Marinos against rivals Kashima Antlers. 

With the ball bouncing out after a clearance from a set-piece, Iwata catches it sweetly with the outside of his foot, finding the bottom corner with a powerful strike.  

Conclusions

Iwata’s arrival could be seen as a straight swap for defensive midfielder Oliver Abildgaard with the Danes’ season-long deal reportedly set to be terminated. 

Abildgaard seemed to fit the bill at the time but a lack of athleticism and speed on the ball has seen him fail to make an impact in the number six position. This was evidenced when Postecoglou turned to Matt O’Riley to fill that void during Callum McGregor’s injury lay-off, rather than Abildgaard. 

A more mobile operator, Iwata appears to have the quality on the ball that may finally give Postecoglou a high-quality alternative at the base of his midfield, potentially allowing McGregor to move further forward. Able to cover at centre-back and right-back too, his flexibility is also a big plus. 

For Iwata, his current experience in a ball-dominant team, his aggressive playing style both in and out of possession and his prior working relationship with Postecoglou all point to him having the potential to make a big impact at Celtic.