Celtic must keep their best players at the club next season. They have to give Brendan Rodgers the best chance to continue their dominance over Scottish football, as they come off of their fifth domestic treble in seven years. At the same time, they have a group stage campaign coming up in the Champions League. The Northern Irishman is believed to be keen to make a mark in Europe this time around.
That has not stopped plenty of Celtic’s top players from being linked with moves away from Parkhead this summer. Reo Hatate certainly falls under that category.
Hatate has been superb ever since joining Celtic from Kawasaki Frontale in January of 2022. The midfielder has been a class apart, not looking out of place even against teams like Real Madrid in the Champions League. Naturally, that has caught the attention of teams.
Till now, he was being linked with a move to the Premier League, with clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur rumoured to hold an interest. But as reported by the Daily Record, reports in Saudi Arabia claim Al-Ittihad have joined the race for Hatate.
Celtic starter linked with move to Al-Ittihad out of nowhere
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the Japanese midfielder. Of course, if a huge offer came in, it might be difficult for both Celtic and Hatate to turn it down.
At the same time though, if Hatate joined Al-Ittihad at this stage of his career, he might never get another chance at the top level in Europe. In many ways, it would be similar to Oscar joining Shanghai Port FC in his prime.
So, let’s see what the future holds for Hatate. The best case scenario for Celtic would be the Japanese midfielder staying on beyond this summer.