Celtic’s Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava has focused most of the plaudits and headlines on young midfielder, Arne Engels.
The Belgian international was outstanding in the 5-1 win as Engels wowed the Celtic fans with a superb display of defensive and attacking football.
Grabbing a goal and an assist, the 21-year-old has made a storming start to his Celtic career and has already started to pay back the record £11m fee Brendan Rodgers splashed out on him.
But it wasn’t Engels that was on Stan Collymore’s mind. The former Villa man and self-confessed Celtic fan was loving someone else instead.
Collymore would take Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate at Villa
With Celtic set to face Aston Villa later in the season, Collymore was clearly impressed by both Callum McGregor and Japanese midfielder, Reo Hatate, after watching them dismantle Slovan Bratislava.
The outspoken pundit clearly liked what he saw as both players helped control a game that was arguably one of Celtic’s best performances in the Champions League.
Hatate and McGregor’s importance to Celtic
The Celtic captain continued his superb start to the season and almost continued his goal-scoring streak as another long-range effort flashed past the post in the second half.
McGregor is a hugely influential character in the Celtic dressing room and as he has consistently shown all season, is the driving force in the heart of the midfield.
As for Hatate, when he plays, Celtic plays and last night was no exception. Notching up another assist, Hatate’s creativity was crucial to help unlock a packed Bratislava defence.
The Japanese midfielder has been a massive influence on Celtic’s attacking play since he joined the club in December 2021 and will undoubtedly continue to do so domestically and in Europe as Brendan Rodgers continues Celtic’s dominant start to the new season.
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