Celtic hero brands Yuki Kobayashi a ‘better option’ to nail down starting spot ahead of Carl Starfelt

Frank McAvennie believes Celtic defender Yuki Kobayashi has laid down a strong claim that he is a better option to start at centre-back than “awkward” Carl Starfelt going forward.

The 22-year-old has had to wait patiently for his first-team opportunity since arriving from J-League side Vissel Kobe in the January transfer window as Moritz Jenz headed for the exit door. That is largely down to the solid partnership Starfelt has formed alongside mainstay Cameron Carter-Vickers at the heart of the Hoops backline.

The USA international was left out of the matchday squad for the trip to Rugby Park on Sunday as a precaution with Postecoglou citing the artificial playing surface behind his decision.

Parkhead hero McAvennie feels that Kobayashi has proved in his three starts to date he will be a valuable asset to Ange Postecoglou’s squad and is adamant that being naturally left-sided makes him better suited to partner Carter-Vickers.

He told Football Insider: “I like Yuki (Kobayashi). He is left-sided, he plays great with Carter-Vickers. I think he is a better option than Starfelt. He (Starfelt) looks a bit awkward sometimes because he is not a left-sided player.”

Kobayashi earned praise from his manager following Celtic’s 4-1 victory in Ayrshire. The Hoops boss admitted: “I thought he was really good. It’s not an easy place to play obviously with the surface and they’re a physical side, so you’ve got to deal with a lot of long balls.

“I mentioned before the game I thought we needed some energy and the guys coming in gave us that. The whole group in general came out with a real intent - Tomoki (Iwata) was excellent in midfield, Yuki handled the big physical challenge of playing here really well.

“It’s been a different kind of period for us with only one game a week. I’ve got a squad that is robust enough to play two games a week, the boys have been working really hard and training is very competitive. So guys coming in like Yuki and Haksabanovic, they’re ready to go even though we haven’t had the games.

“It was good for him (Kobayashi) to get 90 minutes. In all the games he’s played so far he’s hardly put a foot wrong. He’s only a young player but he’s growing all the time. I’m really pleased with him.”

Asked if the statistics behind Carter-Vickers blossoming partnership with Starfelt had made Kobayashi’s task of breaking into the starting line-up tougher than most, Postecoglou responded: “Yeah, to a certain extent but that’s always going to be the challenge. If it’s not Carl and Cameron then it will be somebody else.

“Like at all big clubs, you’re never going to just have two centre halves that always play. You want the best in each position and you want people outside that challenging them. Since he’s come in, Yuki has been really focused on improving himself. He’s done a lot of work individually with guys like John Kennedy in training just to be ready for his opportunity.”