Reo Hatate’s former manager insists there’s more to come from him at Celtic

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Kawasaki Frontale manager Toru Oniki has hailed Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate, insisting there is still more growth in the 24-year old.

Last January, Hatate joined the club from the J-League champions Kawasaki; the side which Oniki has led to four of the previous five championships in Japan.

The Frontale boss knows the Japanese internationalist well from his time spent with his side after signing the midfielder as a youngster in 2018.

Speaking in an interview with Australian outlet Keep Up, Oniki was full of praise for the Celtic midfielder, stating that there is still more growth to come for Hatate as a player.

Oniki also opened up on some of his very first experiences with Hatate.

He explained how the Japan international first joined the J-League champions as a striker before being converted into a versatile midfield player.

He told Keep Up: “I think it’s a team (Celtic) that suits his playing style, and he can grow.”

When asked about Hatate catching the eye early in his career, he continued: “He participated in a pre-season training when he was a junior and senior university student.

“I heard from a team scout that there is good player and asked him to participate in team training. I felt that he was a very talented player.

“He joined as striker. At the time, I had him working on playing as a midfielder as well. He was a player who is very powerful and can do hard work.

“I think he will continue to grow. From the manager’s point of view, he is a very valuable and dependable player who can play in multiple positions.”

We could be about to see the best of Reo Hatate next season

Hatate made a rapid start to life at Celtic, putting in man of the match performances and scoring some crucial goals on the way to the Scottish Premiership title.

However, as the second half of the season progressed, the midfielder’s performances started to slow up, having just come off the back of an entire J-League season in December.

So, over the summer, the 24-year old will be able to rest and come back fresh going into pre-season.

As his former manager states, there is still more growth to come from the midfielder, and next season we could be about to see the very best of Hatate and witness his full potential.

In other news, Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis helps Greece to an away win in Belfast.