Reo Hatate, having first seen the light of day in Japan on the 21st of November 1997, currently pulls the strings in the heart of the midfield for Celtic. His stature, a modest 1.71m (5ft 7in) in height and a weight of 70kg (11st), belies the size of his impact on the field. He can be recognised by his number 41 jersey.
The market evaluates Hatate at around £8.5m (from €10.00m), per the number-crunchers at Transfermarkt. His current deal with Celtic is timed to run down the clock on the 31st of May 2028, with a respectable 3 years and 10 months still to go.
So far in the 2024 - 2025 campaign, Hatate has trotted out in Celtic colours for two Premiership contests, managing to put the ball in the back of the net once. Although it's early yet, we've seen him start in every game. His previous campaigns saw him taking part in the Champions League 2023 - 2024, League Cup 2024 - 2025, and the Scottish Cup 2023 - 2024.
Going back in time a little, back in August 2018, Hatate cut his teeth at Kawasaki Frontale in the J1 League in his home country. His first season in senior football saw limited action with just a solo appearance to his name. However, he found his stride in the following seasons, making 31 and 30 appearances and scoring a fairly consistent 5 goals in each of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The winter transfer window in 2022 saw Hatate swapping the J1 League surroundings for the Scottish Premiership, signing for Celtic for a sum in the realm of £1.4m. His Celtic career promised a bigger stage. His maiden season in Scotland saw him take the field 17 times, netting four times. The following seasons of 2022 - 2023 and 2023 - 2024 he made 32 and 16 appearances respectively, with a cumulative nine goals. This current 2024 - 2025 season, although it's early days, has already seen him score once in his first two appearances.
