Reo Hatate: Celtic’s £1.5M Bargain Is the Best Player in Scotland

Celtic supporters understandably got carried away when Reo Hatate put two first-half strikes past Rangers in a vital 3–0 derby win, just a month after moving to Glasgow from his native Japan. The midfielder — 25, but crucially in just his third season of professional football — had exploded into fan-favourite status in uniquely swift fashion. The Celtic faithful were already more than pleased — but to Hatate and his new manager, Ange Postecoglou, his potential was barely starting to be fulfilled.

Despite his young CV already boasting experience playing in every outfield position other than centre-back (a testament to the trust Hatate’s coaches have always had in his football intelligence), his move to work with Postecoglou at Celtic has catalysed his maturation into a majestic advanced midfielder. Perhaps his most startling attribute is his refusal to stop improving — having already undoubtedly reached a level bettered by none of his counterparts in Scotland.

Over a year on from his defining derby double, Hatate/Iniesta comparisons from the Parkhead support have only multiplied — and don’t rush to ridicule them. After all, when the Spanish midfield icon was quizzed on who he rated as the best that the J-League had to offer following the 2021 season, a 23-year-old Reo was blessed with his endorsement. The namecheck was quite the cherry on top of a glistening season had with Kawasaki Frontale.

But it wasn’t one which had seen Hatate burst onto the scene as an unknown. Close followers of the Japanese game will have recognised the J-League team of the season inductee from his consecutive goalscoring final appearances at the 2017 and 2019 Universiade youth tournaments against France and Brazil respectively, in his days as a striker. It was consequently unsurprising when he was picked up by one of the nation’s biggest clubs upon graduation from university at 21.