Report: Celtic on verge of completing first January signing; said his goodbyes at current club

By John McGinley

November 27, 2021

Celtic are ‘well down the road’ towards completing a deal for Reo Hatate, The Scottish Daily Mail reports. [27/11 print edition, back page]

Journalist Stephen McGowan believes Celtic could well make him the club’s first signing of the January transfer window.

The player is reported to have already said his goodbyes to supporters and teammates at Kawasaki Frontale.

Hatate is a versatile player on the verge of caps with the Japanese national team. He can play at left-back but also in central midfield, so it will be interesting to see where Ange Postecoglou uses him if he does sign up.

The 24-year-old’s contract expires at the end of January 2022, meaning Celtic could well have been speaking to him directly about a potential free transfer.

Although, the Celtic manager has insisted he wants to get his deals down earlier, so there may well have to be a nominal fee/agreement reached with his club in Japan.

Postecoglou has already used his knowledge of the Japanese market well so far at Celtic, bringing in the exciting Kyogo Furuhashi.

Kyogo has quickly become one of the most popular players at the Bhoys, so bringing in other players from the J-League will likely go do well with the support.

It’s also a sign that the manager has an influence on transfer deals and is bringing in the players he wants.

One to watch over the coming weeks.

In other news, Hilarious Celtic plane footage goes viral.