Surprising claim emerges about Celtic’s Reo Hatate plans

The first rumours linking Reo Hatate with a move to Celtic emerged a few weeks ago and since then, they have only grown. As things stand, the Hoops are expected to make a move for the Japanese star in January and it is not hard to see why. He has been one of the standout performers in the J1 League in recent years and played a big role for back-to-back champions Kawasaki Frontale.

Also, Kyogo’s incredible success since joining Celtic must have given the club a lot of encouragement when it comes to making moves for J1 League stars.

Hatate’s current deal with Kawasaki Frontale is expected to run out at the end of January but Celtic are believed to be pushing to get a deal over the line early in the winter transfer window.

They might have some surprising plans for Hatate on the pitch though. As reported by the Daily Record, the Japanese player is the man Ange Postecoglou believes will solve Celtic’s left-back issues.

Surprising claim emerges about Celtic’s Hatate plans

Hatate has played quite a bit at left-back for Kawasaki Frontale in recent times. And his incredible versatility means that he can play in several positions all over the pitch.

But naturally, he is a midfielder and that is believed to be his strongest position. Also, Celtic need to strengthen in the middle of the park as well and initially, rumours had suggested that that is where they wanted Hatate to play. But now, it looks like that might not be the case after all.

Celtic do need to strengthen at left-back as well though. It has been an area of worry since the departure of Kieran Tierney in the summer of 2019. Josip Juranovic has played in the position in recent times but the Croatian is a natural right-back. Thus, the Hoops could do with an addition at left-back in January.