Celtic could push Reo Hatate out of the club with the signing of a new midfielder, according to one reporter.
Martin O'Neill seems to have offered an olive branch to Hatate in the last week or so, bringing him off the bench for the first leg of the Champions League qualifier with LASK.
Hatate was left out of O'Neill's matchday squads for the run-in last season, and he hadn't been involved up until last week. O'Neill has suggested he would like to keep Hatate if the midfielder finds some consistency, but it the midfielder appears to want a new challenge.
Despite that, he has turned down certain clubs this summer, not yet finding the right club, and one journalist has suggested that the arrival of a new midfielder at Celtic, which is likely, will push the Japan international out of the club.
Pete O'Rourke told the Transfer Insider podcast: "If Celtic do add to their midfield this summer with more reinforcements, it's only going to push Reo Hatate further down the pecking order. He found himself down the pecking order at the back end of last season under Martin O'Neill as Celtic were going for the title.
"He's going to find it difficult, I think, to break into that Celtic side because of the competition in the engine room. Celtic are obviously open to offers for Hatate, having made him available."
Celtic's midfield hopes
Celtic are hoping to add at least one new midfielder before the September 3rd deadline, and they may even add two. The Bhoys are likely to add a defensive-minded midfielder, and they could also sign one a little further forward.
Niko Sigur and Gvidas Gineitis are being heavily linked, and it's likely we will see movement after Celtic's Champions League second leg. Should the Bhoys qualify, they are likely to kick on with their business, armed with the promise of big prize money.
What O'Neil has said
Speaking about Hatate's future this week, O'Neill has said: "That I don’t know, and there are a lot of things that can happen between now and the third of September.
"There’s usually maybe something might just happen at the time, so I don’t want to be saying something to you. If he’s still here at the football club, come on, just get going, get going, be the player that you were a couple of years ago."
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