The next Van Dijk? Hatate can be an EPL superstar for Arsenal

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 3 Feb 2022 05:21 CST
• 5 min read

In the January transfer window in Scotland, the two most high-profile arrivals arguably were at Rangers.

On deadline day, Rangers pulled off a coup by landing Aaron Ramsey on loan from Italian giants Juventus, while a week before that they secured another massive loan, bringing in €40 million forward Amad Diallo from Manchester United.

However, it is another January signing in the Scottish Premiership that is making everyone take notice, and that is Celtic's acquisition of maverick midfielder Reo Hatate.

From 2018 to 2021, Hatate featured for Kawasaki Frontale in the J1 League and it was Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou using his knowledge of the Japanese game that ultimately saw three players from the country arrive in January.

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In addition to Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi were signed in January, and they joined Kyogo Furuhashi, who arrived in the summer of 2021.

Hatate was signed for a fee of around €1.5m and that is already looking like a steal.

On 17 January, he made his debut for Celtic against Hibernian and was given the Man of the Man award. A few days later, he scored a stunning long-range strike against Hearts which helped the Hoops seal a vital away win at Tynecastle.

The 24-year-old would eventually steal headlines not just in Scotland, but around the world following his performance in his first match against Celtic's arch rivals, Rangers.

The derby between the two sides took place on Wednesday evening, with Celtic easily brushing aside Rangers with a 3-0 home victory in front of 60,000 fans at Celtic Park.

Hatate was involved in all three goals.

His first, which came early on, saw him cut across a bouncing ball at the edge of the box to guide a strike into the far corner, while his second was a beautiful, precise strike into the right corner from the edge of the box.

Just before half-time, he set up the third with a deep cross to the back post for Liel Abada to score.

While some players can shrink under the intensity in Celtic versus Rangers fixtures, Hatate took to the occasion like a duck to water and, along with Callum McGregor, ran the midfield with complete ease.

He is composure personified in possession and his decision-making is fantastic as he very rarely fails to pick the right pass.

Arsenal should take notice of Hatate

The Scottish Premiership has long been a competition of interest from teams in England as players can usually be purchased cheaper than in other countries due to the financial gulf between the leagues north and south of the border.

While some players have gone south and failed, there are many who have flourished recently, such as Kieran Tierney, Victor Wanyama and John McGinn.

The biggest success has undoubtedly been Virgil van Dijk, however, as he is now recognised as being one of the best centre-backs in the world.

Several big sides in England will regret not taking a punt on the big Dutchman a few years ago, with Scotland viewed as a lesser competition by fans, pundits and indeed clubs in the Premier League.

It was Southampton who eventually signed Van Dijk, but once he proved he could excel in the Premier League it was Liverpool who eventually signed him. They would go on to win the league for the first time in 30 years with him at the back, as well as the Champions League.

Hatate, then, could very well be the next success story if an elite side in England is willing to look at the player's qualities rather than simply judge them by the league he is in.

One team that Hatate would arguably walk right into at the moment is Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta is desperately short of central midfielders and, more crucially, he is even shorter of central midfielders he can trust.

Thomas Partey can be hit and miss, Albert Sambi Lokonga is still young, Mohamed Elneny was never good enough for Arsenal, while Granit Xhaka continues to be Granit Xhaka.

Just because Hatate was an unknown commodity before moving to Celtic, and because he is plying his trade in Scotland, does not mean he isn't a player of immense quality.

Celtic, already, will likely be bracing themselves for his eventual departure, but they'll certainly earn a pretty penny when he does go.