Celtic moved back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in the first game after the international break.
Goals from Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho sealed all three points for the Hoops, who had found themselves drawing 1-1 heading into stoppage time.
Iheanacho, who came off the bench to make his debut for the club, scored from the penalty spot in the 96th minute to secure the victory for Brendan Rodgers.
Despite the fact that Celtic won the match, there were a few worrying performances across the board for Celtic, who have scored one goal from open play in their last three games in all competitions.
Rodgers has plenty of options to choose in most positions, perhaps apart from centre-forward, and players know that they need to step up and deliver consistent displays to keep their spot in the side.
With this in mind, Reo Hatate is one of the players who needs to up his game in the coming weeks to retain his position in the starting line-up moving forward.
Why Reo Hatate needs to improve his performances
The Japan international failed to impress against Kilmarnock after being selected to start alongside Callum McGregor and Benjamin Nygren in the middle of the park.
Hatate is in the team to be a threat at the top end of the pitch by scoring and creating goals, as a dynamic midfielder who is not the type to sit back and defend.
Unfortunately, the 27-year-old star was fairly anonymous at the top end of the pitch throughout his 70 minutes of game time, with no shots on target and no ‘big chances’ created for his team, per Sofascore.
Since his exceptional goal against Aberdeen, shown in the clip above, near the start of August, Hatate has failed to produce a goal or an assist for the Scottish giants in the middle of the park.
His performances across the two legs against Kairat, in which Celtic failed to score a single goal, were particularly disappointing for a player of his quality in midfield.
Minutes
90
105
Shots on target
1
0
Pass accuracy
84%
68%
Big chances created
0
1
Duels won
0/8
3/15
Fouls committed
3
4
Possession lost
16x
25x
As you can see in the table above, Hatate did not do enough to help the team offensively or defensively, as he was dominated in duels whilst being incredibly wasteful with the ball at his feet.
It is frustrating to see the Japan international turn in consistently underwhelming performances because he has the quality to do better. Last season, he scored ten goals and created 14 ‘big chances’ for Celtic in 27 starts in the Premiership, per Sofascore.
This shows that he is capable of producing more quality in the final third, which is why Rodgers should expect him to do more if he wants to keep his place in the side.
Thankfully, for Celtic, the Northern Irish head coach has been brewing the club’s next Hatate over the last 13 months or so in the form of Luke McCowan.
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The Scottish midfielder was signed from Dundee for a fee of £1m in the summer of 2024 and he has proven himself to be a useful squad member, whose value has soared during his time at Parkhead.
Celtic are brewing their next Reo Hatate
As aforementioned, Hatate is in the Hoops team to deliver quality in the final third by scoring and assisting goals, which is exactly what McCowan was born to do.
The left-footed midfield star has been a bit-part player for the most part throughout his career in Glasgow to date, but his performances when called upon suggest that Rodgers is brewing a talent who could take Hatate’s place as a regular starter.
Per Transfermarkt, McCowan’s value has soared to £2.2m, more than double what the club paid for him. That is higher than new signing Sebastian Tounekti, who is valued at £1m, despite the Tunisia international’s impressive debut with five completed dribbles against Kilmarnock.
The Scottish midfielder has proven his worth by delivering quality performances on the pitch in the Premiership when called upon by the Scottish giants since the start of last season.
His value soaring above Tounekti’s, who is an exciting new signing for the Hoops this season, is a testament to the quality he has shown for the club to date.
McCowan has already scored one goal in one start in the league so far this term for the Hoops, with his strike against St Mirren on the opening day to claim all three points for the team.
The former Dundee star, who was described as “tenacious” by writer Kai Watson, ended the 2024/25 campaign with eight goals and eight assists in 16 starts in the Premiership for Dundee and Celtic combined.
xG
0.31
Top 3%
Goals
0.46
Top 4%
Shots on target
1.26
Top 3%
xA
0.40
Top 3%
Assists
0.46
Top 5%
Chances created
2.51
Top 5%
As you can see in the table above, McCowan racked up 0.92 goals and assists per 90 in the top-flight last season, which shows that he consistently delivered when called upon in the final third.
This suggests that he has the potential to overtake Hatate as the starter in that midfield slot, because the Japanese flop has only scored one goal and failed to provide any assists in six starts in all competitions this season, per Sofascore.
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Therefore, Rodgers may be brewing the successor to Hatate’s place in the XI in McCowan, who could become a regular if the Japan international does not improve his performances.