Tomoki Iwata's post-Celtic move hits world record heights as Birmingham City create EFL history

Nobody at Celtic will be surprised by Tomoki Iwata’s success in the colours of Birmingham City.

In truth, when Iwata joined Birmingham from Celtic last summer, many were taken aback because he decided to join a team in England’s third tier, and many felt he was just too good for League One.

That has proven to be the case for the 28-year-old, who is enjoying far more success since leaving the champions of Scotland, than others who recently departed.

David Turnbull has been relegated with Cardiff City to League One, and now the former Celtic duo will swap leagues after leaving the club months apart from one another.

But, for Iwata himself, after Birmingham secured promotion to the Championship a number of weeks ago, and then secured the title, they took things to another level on Wednesday night.

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

Iwata started in the middle of the park and played the entire game, as Birmingham beat Blackpool 2-0 to register 108 points for the season.

No team in English Football League history has accumulated more points, and with one game to spare, Chris Davies’ side have surpassed Reading’s record total of 106 from the 2005-06 Championship campaign.

The man from Japan has started 38 of those 45 matches, including being nominated for Player of the Year, and being named in the Team of the Season.

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Celtic were right to sell Iwata amid Birmingham’s success

Nobody is going to play in front of Callum McGregor, the Celtic captain is one of the first names on the teamsheet, and a key player for Brendan Rodgers.

Yes, the Hoops need and require that number six to add extra bite and depth in that area, especially with the Champions League format being revamped.

But Celtic were still right to let him go because he wouldn’t have earned the regular starts, so his progress was better off elsewhere, as WhoScored rated his performance at 6.85 for the season.

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