Reo Hatate’s agent has ruled out a summer move to Saudi Arabia, stating that the midfielder will be staying in Europe.
That message could be half full or half empty to Celtic fans, late on Monday night there were reports that the midfielder was a transfer target for Saudi side Al Ittihad.
Last summer there weren’t any departures from Celtic but in January ‘Player Trading’ kicked in when Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis were sold with Alastair Johnston and Oh Hyeon-gyu brought in as replacements.
That transition was smoother than many anticipated but finding a replacement for Hatate to slot into a side preparing for the Champions League would be a far tougher task.
Exclusive – About the rumors of Reo Hatate of transfer to Ittihad Jeddah Saudi, his agent “Reo is still in Europe, No chances to move to Saudi” ✅💯 https://t.co/RPPtvIVR29
— Ahmed Ragab (@ARagab) June 27, 2023
Ragbad is a Cairo-based Sports Executive with Arquam FC, previously he has been a reporter.
With Ange Postecoglou leaving Celtic for Spurs there is bound to be speculation about the future of his signings from the J-League with the former Yokohama F Marinos boss the driving factor in their decision to move to Celtic.
Hatate’s agent is bound to be aware of interest in his client but for football reasons a second full season at Celtic spike up by Champions League football would appear to be his best option.
If Hatate repeats or improves on his form of last season it seems likely that serious interest will come in from the EPL or one of the other major European leagues.
