Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou dived into the Asian transfer market during the previous summer and winter transfer windows by bringing in four new Japanese players.

In the 2021 summer transfer window, the Hoops signed Kyogo Furuhashi from Vissel Kobe before bringing in the trio of Reo Hatate, Daizen Maede and Yosuke Ideguchi in January.

This summer window saw the Hoops linked with another Japanese talent as reports emerged claiming the club were looking to sign Manchester City defender Ko Itakura.

However, earlier this month, it was revealed that the centre-back had joined Borussia Monchengladbach on a permanent deal, putting to bed Celtic's chances of signing him.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the window, the Bhoys may now have the chance to secure a deal for their own version of the Japanese defender.

Back in May, it was claimed by the agent of KAA Gent defender, Joseph Okumu, that Celtic had shown an interest in signing the player.

The Hoops were linked with a £3.4m move for the player last summer as well.

With 41 appearances under his belt for the Belgian club, the 25-year-old showed during his previous league season how much of a capable defender he is.

For example, with 27 league games to his name, the Kenyan ended the campaign with the third-highest number of interceptions (49) and successful tackles (41) at Gent.

Praised for his "tremendous" performances in the past for AFC Ann Arbor by Dan Egner, Okumu certainly has the defensive credentials to be a solid addition to Celtic's ranks this summer.

In terms of being the Parkhead club's own version of Itakura, the former City defender is included on a list of similar players to the Gent figure according to Football Transfers.

In addition to that, the fact the new Monchengladbach recruit racked up 38 interceptions and 30 successful tackles for Schalke last season also shows how similar the two players are.

If an opportunity to sign Okumu arises before the window closes, Celtic should absolutely do all they can to bring the centre-back to Parkhead and help strengthen Postecoglou's defensive force.

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