Celtic agreed to sell Reo Hatate ahead of the English transfer deadline, with the midfielder having to compromise on his wishes this summer. Hatate has wanted out throughout the summer having struggled for form last season, leading to being dropped by Martin O'Neill.
O'Neill has called upon Hatate off the bench this season, and the veteran boss offered the Japanese international a chance to stay if he was willing to get his head down and get back into form, But the midfielder always wanted to depart, but he was waiting for a club from one of the top five leagues.
Over a year ago, that would have been possible, with Hatate having been a superb player for Celtic over the years, but coming off his worst season as a Hoop, a top move was never going to be likely.
With no disrespect to Ipswich Town, Daizen Maeda only just managed a Premier League move with a newly promoted side, and he was coming off an excellent season and World Cup.
A compromise was always going to be needed for Hatate, especially with the English window closing at 11pm on Tuesday night, and in the end, Hatate decided to join likely Championship promotion contenders Burnley. He ultimately joined on an undisclosed fee, and there is no mention of the fee from anyone at this stage.
Hatate joins Arne Engels, Stephen Walsh and Johnny Kenny, who have left Celtic this summer, in playing in the EFL Championship this season.
"This is a great move for me. It's my first time playing in England and it's a fantastic club to be joining," Hatate told the Burnley website after completing his move.
"I'm hoping to bring my experience and knowledge to the dressing room and help the team on the pitch as much as possible to achieve our aim."
While things did not end brilliantly, Hatate deserves plenty of respect for what he did at Celtic. He amassed 132 league appearances, scoring 25 times from midfield and winning five league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups. The Bhoys certainly got their money's worth on their just over £1million investment, and it's likely they have also bagged a big profit on his sale.
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