It is fair to say Reo Hatate has been one of Celtic’s foremost signings over the past few years.
What the Japanese midfielder provides on the pitch compared to the price he was signed for makes him one of the club’s shrewdest incomings of recent times.
Along with Hatate, Celtic signed Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi from the J. League. Former Hoops’ manager Ange Postecoglou has recently said he was extremely eager to add another asset from the land of the rising sun, though.
Postecoglou revealed that he watched Brighton winger Karou Mitoma when he initially came through at Kawasaki Frontale. The Aussie stated he was heavily impressed by the attacker and that he attempted to bring him in at Celtic, but the Seagulls were too quick for him.
Going by his form in the Premier League, Mitoma would’ve been a big hit in Glasgow. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, though, and it just wasn’t meant to be. Postecoglou said (Football Scotland): “I watched Mitoma’s debut, I was on the opposition bench, he’d come straight from uni and destroyed us. I did [try to sign Mitoma at Celtic], but Brighton were too sharp for me. I ended up getting Reo [Hatate] but I said to the guys at Celtic at the time, Brighton put Mitoma on loan to Belgium, I said watch this guy when he hits the Premier League he’s gonna rip it apart, I knew.”
Once again, the 58-year-old’s fine eye for a player has been disclosed in this instance. Mitoma would’ve, in all likelihood, excelled at Parkhead, and the Hoops would’ve made vast profit on him, but without him, the club are not in a position that is at all negative.
