Celtic midfielder, Reo Hatate has been the subject of much transfer speculation over the last few months. The Japanese midfielder was in superb form for Celtic last season on both the domestic and European fronts and has reportedly been attracting the attention of teams from the English Premier League.
Of course, the Celtic fans will be desperate to keep a hold of the talented 25-year-old but, inevitably, when you are performing for one of the most famous teams in world football, other suitors will emerge.
And the Celtic midfielder has opened up the speculation and the ambition he has to test himself at the highest level.
Hatate said [Hochi News], “It’s something I can’t control. That is a natural thing for a player. If you lose your ambition, that’s the end of you as a player. That’s something I’m already looking for myself, so if I can challenge myself, I want to.”
When Hatate first spoke about his long-term career ambition, I discussed this on 67 Hail Hail and was of the opinion that there was nothing wrong with those comments. And I still maintain this view to this day.
Hatate has only played at a professional level for two clubs. Kawasaki Frontale and Celtic. At his age, having the ambition to continue and progress his career is natural.
And if he does make the move to a better league, that means Celtic, and Hatate, are continuing to be successful and that can only be good news for the Celtic support.
Reo Hatate sets early season improvement for Celtic
Hatate has been superb for Celtic since signing in January of 2021. The Japanese midfielder has been exceptional in the heart of Celtic’s team and has popped up with some very important goals.
In 66 appearances for Celtic, he has scored 13 goals but also created 14. And of the goals he has scored, there were some that played an important part of our early successes in Ange Postectoglou’s first season at the club.
Who can forget his screamer at Tynecastle in his second appearance in the Hoops in the 2-1 win and, of course, his double against Rangers in his Glasgow Derby debut?
Hatate was assessing his performance for Celtic in the Gamba Osaka friendly and was left frustrated at not being able to contribute effectively in the final third of the pitch.
Hatate continued, “First of all, I wanted to be involved in the build-up and then I wanted to show my quality in front of goal, but I didn’t get there.
“That’s something I need to work on.”
If the midfielder can add more goals to his game he will become an exciting and even more important player for us under Brendan Rodgers.
With a double in his first season and a Treble in his second, Hatate is already enjoying an incredible taste of success early into his Celtic career. I am sure that he will want to experience more before thinking about moving on to pastures new.
In other news, Kyogo’s pre-season verdict of Brendan Rodgers and what his Celtic goal celebration really means
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