Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers reckons the best is yet to come from midfielder Reo Hatate and that he will soon be showing what he is truly capable of in a Bhoys shirt.
Hatate started for Celtic first time since last season’s Scottish Cup Final, away to Feyenoord on Tuesday. He was not quite at his best but did show flashes of getting into strong attacking positions.
Rodgers is encouraged that the Japanese star is building his fitness and reckons everyone should have patience as he works up to 100%.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s test against Livingston, the Celtic manager said [Sky Sports]: “It takes that little bit of time and obviously when you are missing key players, key players can influence the level at which you play the game.
“But thankfully Reo Hatate, he had another 55-60 minutes the other night, so that’s really good for him in terms of match practice because he has not played so much. When he gets up to speed, he will show he is a fantastic player.
“A few others are coming back a little bit later, but I would anticipate us getting better as the season goes on.”
It’s important to remember that Hatate is coming back from fitness and injury issues. As stated, Tuesday night was his first start of the season and it was a difficult fixture to jump into.
The midfielder is a strong candidate to keep his place in the team for the trip to Livingston and hopefully we can start to see him pull off the passes and show the vision that has marked him as a stand-out over the last 12 months.
With contract talks also underway, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed he can deliver on the ability everyone knows he has. Rodgers thinks it’s coming, and that’s encouraging.
In other news, It’s clear what Brendan Rodgers is looking for in January transfer window as Celtic talks begin.
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