This is a massive block of games approaching for Celtic and the boss needs Hatate back to his best
12:33, 13 Oct 2025
Sportswriter with the Daily Record and Sunday Mail.
Hatate and Rodgers
Reo Hatate joined Celtic on the same day as Daizen Maeda.
As the pair approach four straight years with the champions, the contrast in their last sighting could not have been more stark.
It’s public knowledge that Maeda wanted away in the summer and yet, although not at his sparkling best since the campaign’s kick-off, he remains a key figure with his vital late goal against Motherwell keeping his team within two points of Hearts heading into this weekend’s Premiership resumption.
By that time, Hatate was long off the pitch. Subbed on the hour with his side 2-1 down having been unable to make a serious mark on the game. Not for the first time this term.
As Celtic struggle to find the right combinations and balance in the middle of the park, finding the spark which really reignites their gifted 27-year-old might just solve a major problem for Brendan Rodgers.
This is a massive block of games approaching for Celtic. Crunch ties in Europe against Sturm Graz and Midtjylland, a mammoth top-flight showdown against Hearts and a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers.
It was the same last year. At this exact time. And Hatate lit it up. Scoring in the top-of-table game against Aberdeen, instrumental in the semi-final demolition of the Dons, inspired in the Champions League with top shows against Atalanta and RB Leipzig, when he scored in, arguably, the team’s most-complete performance of the campaign given the standard of the Bundesliga opposition.
Hatate was at the heart of it. Front and centre. And he needs to be again for Rodgers.
Throughout his Parkhead career, he has produced moments of scintillating magic. Described by Record Sport’s Chris Sutton as a worthy contender for Scotland’s Player of the Year in 2022/23, the Japanese grew and built.
Left out of the starting line-up when Rodgers made his return to the club in favour of David Turnbull, Hatate responded. Big goals and big performances were still in the locker.
The piece of outlandish magic to send Adam Idah scampering clear to force the own goal from Young Boys in January and get Celtic into the knockout stages of the Champions League evidence again that stardust remains firmly in his boots.
But, right now, that magic isn’t evident. Hatate is, more often than not, cutting a peripheral figure in the very matches he used to light up.
The daring passes, risk-taking sorcery replaced by a more-subdued looking figure too often giving the ball away as opposed to splitting apart backlines.
There is an accusation of staleness within some of the more regular Celtic watchers. Kyogo Furuhashi finally left the building after three-and-a-half years following that Young Boys game to head for Ligue 1 seeking a fresh challenge. Maeda, clearly, felt the same way.
Only Hatate knows how he feels, but while his team-mate is with Japan, coach Hayime Moriyasu hasn’t selected him and those signs aren’t promising with a World Cup looming.
In fairness to Hatate, no-one within the Celtic midfield has really shown up to peak form this term. It’s been a strange scenario.
Benjamin Nygren arrived in the summer and made up the trio in the beginning with McGregor and Hatate and, although the Swede has contributed goals, it’s up for debate whether his displays in the central role offer enough in terms of the team’s overall output.
Arne Engels has not been able to stamp a mark on things. Signed for £11 million just over a year ago, he had to cope with the pressures of the transfer fee and the demands of the club.
The Belgian did enough to suggest he’s a quality player and, with a season of experience in Scotland under his belt, was expected to kick-on severely this term.
It might still happen, but, as yet, he’s finding it tough enough to even get into the starting line-up and the same goes for Paulo Bernardo.
The Portuguese, with a year on loan from Benfica before a permanent move, had a year of the Premiership extra on his CV compared to Engels and, when Matt O’Riley was sold to Brighton, made it clear he wanted to be the one to fill the void.
But again, like Engels, Bernardo has been unable to make a real fist of it. Produced into the starting line-up for the Europa League contest against Braga, he suffered like the rest have done too often this term with a game passing him by.
Luke McCowan got an opportunity from the start against Motherwell, but just like Hatate, he was replaced on the hour as Celtic looked to launch a comeback and win the game.
Celtic’s Reo Hatate and Partick Thistle’s Ben Stanway in action
It’s been clear since the season started that normal fluidity is missing in the engine room for Celtic. It has been pointed out by more than one observer that Greg Taylor’s departure has left a big hole.
Taylor’s ability to go inside and join McGregor gave him numerical support and also allowed the other two the opportunity to get closer more regularly to their attack, often getting beyond them.
As Rodgers looks to find the keys to get his team motoring once again, Hatate has shown often enough in his Celtic career he can be the one who grabs matches and does the special things.
It’s not happening right now. The Japanese scored a peach at Pittodrie in the win over Aberdeen in the second week of the season, yet he’s in neutral. He toiled against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League debacle and his last four domestic starts since Kazakhstan have seen him taken off on each occasion.
As one of the squad’s mainstays, Hatate needs to get his form back. If he does so, it might just solve a big problem for his manager.
