ANGE POSTECOGLOU is hopeful his triple swoop for Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi will help him on the pitch.

But a financial expert has revealed the Japanese players could be just as important for Celtic off-the-pitch.

Celtic moved quickly to secure the J-League trio in the January transfer window - with Postecoglou making further use of his knowledge in Asia after bringing in Kyogo Furuhashi in the summer.

While improving the playing squad is the priority for signings, the Japanese market could also bring a "wider fanbase" to Celtic, Dr Dan Plumley explained.

The Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider that the increased Japanese player count at Parkhead is part of "another agenda" to the transfer moves.

And he theorised club chiefs will have been aware of the increased interest in Celtic before the triple swoop was confirmed.

Celtic already appeared to have shown their knowledge of the growing interest in Asia as a Japanese club Twitter account was set up in July last year.

The account was set up to provide "information about Furuhashi and his team" and has already gained more than 39,000 followers.

Dr Plumley said: “It’s interesting that they have just bought three Japanese players.

“That could benefit Celtic if we look at things broadly. It opens doors to a wider fanbase and interest in Celtic in Japan will rise as a result.

“As much as they will benefit Celtic on the pitch, there is another agenda to this stuff as well.

“They come with a good track record and good comments about them too.

“You need everyone to pull in the same direction.

"You imagine that this has been thought out well in advance before they went down this route.”