What kind of offers will Celtic receive for Hatate?
How do Celtic maximise their fee for Reo this summer?
We all know how well Reo Hatate is capable of playing in central midfield for Celtic. When he’s on form, there’s not many players who can find that defence splitting pass like he can. Yet how many of those days have we genuinely seen in recent years? Not many. He came on at half time away at Ibrox last season and helped change the game. Outside of that he’s contributed very little for the last couple of years. In hindsight the time to cash in on the Japanese midfielder was a couple of summers ago. A loss of form and injuries made it difficult for Celtic to attract offers of substance for a player who once looked like he could break the selling record at one point.
Player clearly wants to go
Which brings us to this summer, where Hatate’s body language and comments would indicate that he too thinks a move from Celtic to a fresh challenge would be best for all involved. What realistic offers would we command for Reo given what he’s produced the last couple of seasons? Maybe a bid of a couple of million? Would we realistically get more than that?
It would be a hard pill to swallow taking a massive hit on a player we all rate much more than that. If decent offers don’t make their way to the desk of Michael Nicholson then I wonder if a loan to a club in a decent league as a shop window might be an option. No discounted obligation or option to buy included, just a decent straight loan fee. We’ve been stung before when a player out performs the level we’ve included in the initial agreement. Jack Hendry being resold days later comes to mind.
Would an initial loan deal suit?
If we did allow Hatate to go on loan to a team in England or Italy and he does well then he’d be in the shop window for interested suitors. Celtic would be in a better position to recoup the 10-15 million fee that seems more in line with what we would associate Reo with.
Of course it’s a gamble that could work the other way too. He could turn up and produce what he’s been producing at Celtic the last couple of seasons. With him being contracted to 2028 he’ll have a year left next summer, meaning either way we are only protected for a further 12 months. Maybe the club will decide to take the highest offer this summer and be done with it. All depends on what level of offer come forward.
Time to bring this chapter to a close
It feels like a saga thats rumbled on too long for all parties. A frustrating situation for all as we know Reo is one of the most naturally gifted players at the club. We’ll just have to see what the summer brings but it would be good for no one if Reo finds himself still at the club after the summer window shuts.
Whats the lowest fee you think the club should accept for Hatate this summer?