High wire Hatate is no £25m Celtic man and his total liability flaw makes him risky business – Parkhead analysis
It doesn’t matter the level – it could be Champions League or Sunday League, most teams have that one player who has the ability to thrill and drive you nuts in equal measure.
Back in the old Glasgow & District days many moons ago, it was the sight of some guy running out on the Toryglen red ash wearing new trendy white boots that got folk stewed up. That fella better be a player looking like that…Usually the white boot man would be capable of outrageous pieces of skill – but also some moments of hopeless hilarity.
There was never anything in between. Players these days all wear coloured boots that used to pull bullseyes on backs in the amateur and junior ranks. But some of these luxury players still exist – and still have the ability to delight and drive crazy on any given day. Reo Hatate perhaps falls into that category for Celtic. The midfielder seems to be either match-winner or total liability.
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At Ibrox on Thursday it was the latter. There is no doubt Hatate is a quality player. When he is on his game no one can cope with him. There’s no need to batter the lad. Captured for just £1.4million, he has been one of the bargains of the century. The trouble is when he’s off it. He can be so risky in possession he must take years off managers.
His old team-mate Joe Hart provided an interesting insight into how the Hoops dressing room views him when on broadcasting duty in the Champions League a few weeks back. Hart said: “I think he could be even more hit-and-miss and that’s not a criticism. That’s because he’s got Paulo Bernardo, he’s got Callum McGregor behind him. He’s not really having to think about going back. He’s a player who will try things, they might not come off but when they do he slices through defences. If he can catch fire that could be the real key for Celtic.”
That’s it in a nutshell. Hatate is a high-wire act but when it comes off it’s worth the risk. That’s also the conundrum for Brendan Rodgers in games like Rangers the other day – and the upcoming Champions League matches. Will the Japan midfielder be worth the gamble?
It’s a difficult one. There’s not much point in trying to change Hatate. He’s 27 and that ship has sailed. Rodgers probably had a bash last season when he picked David Turnbull ahead of him in an attempt to get the message through that he had to be more protective of the ball.
It didn’t really stick. But then the midfielder hit form and all those Hollywood balls came off and everything was hunky dory. Likewise this season. Listen, there’s no point in going overboard about Thursday’s thumping as this is a Celtic side that has only lost for a second time domestically since 2023. It happens. Rodgers’ 69-match unbeaten run in his first spell ended in a 4-0 whipping at Tynecastle and they got straight back to it the following week.
No one would be surprised if that was the case again. But there’s still room for some nit-picking like the Hatate enigma. Rewind 18 months or so and he was the next £25m man off the rank after Jota’s departure for Saudi Arabia.
Now? It’s hard to see English Premier League clubs stumping up anywhere near that kind of cash as the teams in his wheelhouse can afford the cash but they can’t afford to give the ball away at that level. If he has ambitions at those heights Hatate will need to work on his decision making.
He must figure out when to hoard and when to Hollywood. Meantime, managers, teammates and fans will have to take the rough with the smooth and hope for more hits than misses.
