Reo Hatate is, perhaps, at the toughest moment of his Celtic career.
Since the most recent return of Martin O’Neill in January, Benjamin Nygren and Arne Engels have secured their places as nailed-on starters.
As a result, Hatate has found himself on the bench. When on the pitch, many Celtic fans feel that he is a shadow of his former self.
Upon replacing an injured Engels in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Livingston on Wednesday, the Japan international conceded a penalty after taking too much time to clear the ball in the box.
Simultaneously with all of this, Hatate has been linked with a move to Brazil, leading to an obvious question: is on the way out of Celtic?
How much would you sell Reo Hatate for?
Martin O’Neill on Celtic’s Reo Hatate
The Brazilian transfer window remains open until March, so an imminent exit would still be possible for Hatate.
He has not been named in one of Japan’s squads in over a year, and may want a change of surroundings to aid his World Cup push.
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Speaking after the Livingston win, O’Neill was asked about Hatate, with many Celtic fans criticising his level of form and commitment.
For the Hoops boss, it’s nothing that he hasn’t seen before. He said: “I think players go through this over the course of a season.
“I know you can’t live in past glories, but Reo was one of the top players in the SPFL about a season and a half ago.
“He just has to try and regain that sort of form again.
“The window’s gone – or I thought it had gone – and that’s it until the summertime. I think I mentioned the German side were supposed to be interested in Maeda.
“That probably plays in your mind for a while, but he got down to it. Everybody in the transfer window thinks, ‘Oh, I can go here’…
“…And then when the first or second of February comes and it’s not happening, you just have to settle down again.
“There is loads to play for, for them personally as much as playing for us.”
Hatate has contributed for O’Neill, scoring all three of his away Europa League games: Midtjylland, Feyenoord and Bologna.
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Celtic players linked away this winter
As well as Hatate, fellow midfielder Engels was heavily linked with an exit, with RB Leipzig initially leading the chase.
However, a last-minute change of pace saw Nottingham Forest have a £25 million bid rejected for the Belgian, in a clear message from Celtic that they were not looking to sell their key players.
Paulo Bernardo reportedly had a loan offer turned from Denmark, with the 23-year-old struggling for regular game time this season.
Also in the final week of the window, Auston Trusty drew interest from Italy, with his European performances gaining attention.
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