Dylan McGeouch names Celtic star he faced who is Premier League level – ahead of Daizen Maeda

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Celtic are blessed to have some serious quality across the squad and it’s testament to the job everyone at the club has done.

From the recruitment team to the man who is in charge now – Brendan Rodgers – the Celtic manager has played a great part in improving players across the board.

But those who have come before also shouldn’t be forgotten, especially the man who stood in the Celtic Park dugout before Rodgers.

Ange Postecoglou has played a great part in Celtic’s history, including bringing in some high-quality players that many hadn’t heard of before.

You could argue that the three most famous names to join under Postecoglou were Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda.

Kyogo has since left, whilst Maeda is running riot this season and is edging closer to becoming the Player of the Year in Scotland.

Dylan McGeouch – who once donned Celtic colours – wanted to give Hatate his flowers.

READ MORE: Pat Bonner issues interesting take on Reo Hatate’s performance after Celtic beat St Mirren

What it’s like facing Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate

McGeouch was at Celtic under Neil Lennon and was part of the famous squad that beat Barcelona on that Champions League night.

The now-League Two midfielder in England also repped Aberdeen and he shared how he was blown away when facing up against Hatate.

McGeouch told Open Goal that the Japan star is ‘top’ and he has got a quality that is worthy of him playing in the English Premier League.

“Hatate is top,” said McGeouch. “That’s the one player I thought like, with Callum (McGregor) and stuff like that, you know what type of players they are.

“But when I went to Parkhead with Aberdeen. I thought Hatate was a f______ good player. Just everything. Solid on the ball.

“You see the Prem (English Premier League) boys and the way they shield the ball. You can’t get the ball off them that easy. He has got that.

“Although he isn’t big, he is solid and it’s hard to get the ball off him. He is clever. He is always trying to make something happen. Always.

“He doesn’t seem a___d. He doesn’t go into his shell. ‘Oh, I have given the ball away’. It’s almost like, ‘I will just play for myself. I don’t care if I give the ball away. I am going to make something happen’.

Hatate’s stats for Celtic this season

There is a lot of talk around Celtic possibly signing Lennon Miller in the summer, and if that means Hatate will leave.

If that happens, then it would be a huge shame because he is an utterly magical player and the truly special things happen when he is on the ball.

Sometimes numbers don’t do a player justice. Some may look at Hatate’s goal contributions and how they need to be higher.

But he is a far better player than that and one of the most watchable players in this all-dominant Celtic side.