Celtic midfielder, Reo Hatate, has shared why he felt confused when he made the switch from Japan to Glasgow back in 2021.

Signed by Ange Postecoglou in December 2021, the international midfielder arrived at Celtic as an unknown quantity.

Clearly, Postecoglou knew of Hatate from his time in Japan and earmarked him as a player who could make a massive contribution to Celtic and it’s fair to say that his impact was immediate.

Starring in a 2-0 debut win over Hibs, Hatate burst onto the Celtic scene with goals against Hearts and Rangers in his following two games in the green and white Hoops.

And whilst it seemed that the Japanese stars’ transition to Scotland was fairly straightforward and easy, Hatate confirms it was anything but.

Hatate ‘puzzled’ by new Celtic teammates

The difference in style of cultures of Japan to the European continent is stark. And it seems that Hatate struggled to come to terms with that in his early Celtic days.

Hatate said [Sportiva], “When I first joined Celtic, I was puzzled by the ‘egotistical’ or ‘I’ll do it myself’ attitude of the overseas players, in a good way, but as I played with them, I started to feel that they were very good players.

“Especially captain and anchor McGregor. He can run and work hard in defence. But he can also carry the ball in attack and shoot on his own.

“O’Reilly is tall, can pass the ball and can also shoot, so I feel that as we play, we are getting more and more in tune with each other.”

Apart from a period at the start of last season where Hatate flitted in and out of the Celtic, the 26-year-old has been a mainstay at Parkhead.

Injury blighted much of his season last year and Hatate will be hoping that he will have a clear run in the Celtic team in the new season.

If Hatate wants to realise his ambition to play in the English Premier League, the Japan international will need to find more consistency in performances under Rodgers and that is something that can only benefit Celtic and the fans heading into the new season.

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