Away from the world of proposed transfer news for a bit, Celtic still has a bit of work to do regarding tying up two important first-team players to new and improved contracts.
Liel Abada and Reo Hatate are two players Brendan Rodgers has been looking to extend their current stays in Glasgow and whilst it seems likely that Abada will sign on the dotted line, Hatate has already rejected new terms.
The Japanese midfielder is said to still be open to signing a new deal according to reports [Daily Record] but talks may need to wait till after the transfer window has closed.
However, Chris Sutton has suggested otherwise. The former Celtic hero was speaking about the Hoops midfielder’s contract status and said what he has been hearing about it is not good news for the club.
Sutton said [Record Celtic podcast], “The fact of the matter is [Reo] Hatate, that all the rumours I hear of him not wanting to sign a new deal, I don’t think that’s good for Celtic.”
Two stances Celtic can take with Reo Hatate
The first, and most obvious one, is that Celtic just offer him the terms he is looking for. The midfielder has been a standout over the past two seasons and was pipped to the Player of the Year Award by the goals of Kyogo Furuhashi.
He performs in the big games for Celtic and he has shown that he can hold his own when it comes to playing in the Champions League. So it’s a no-brainer for the club to pull out the stops to get him to commit to a longer-term deal.
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The second, and hopefully not the one that comes to pass, is that Celtic sell him on. If Hatate has designs on moving to another club, then we need to cash in and let him go.
Yes, I know he still has three years left to run on his current deal but Celtic have seen first-hand what happens when players who want to leave are kept at the club as the ten-in-a-row season can attest to.
The Celtic fans will be hoping that Hatate does decide to sign on the dotted line. It would bring some much-needed stability to the club and a welcome boost amid the doom and gloom of the past two weeks.
In other news, Bayern Munich are now interested in signing £4m Premier League star, after claims Celtic were keen