Martin O'Neill admits Reo Hatate could still leave Celtic before the transfer deadline, but the manager insists he would be happy to keep the midfielder. Hatate has attracted interest from Panathinaikos, as well as two unnamed clubs from MLS and the Austrian Bundesliga, but has rejected those approaches.
The 28-year-old has not featured for Celtic this season and managed less than an hour of match time in the final nine matches of last term after falling out of favour. Despite that, O'Neill might need to draft him back in for Wednesday night's Champions League play-off first leg against LASK in Glasgow, with the Hoops short in midfield.
Hatate's future uncertain
O'Neill said: “I think there are a number of tentative enquiries. Nothing has come up that is beneficial to him or the club. But that might change. If it did not change I would be happy.”
“Reo is a fine footballer. He has dropped down the pecking order at this moment. But if he could recapture the form he showed two seasons ago he would still be an asset. Any player who feels as if they are being squeezed and they want to play and they feel they are not going to play, then playing is the most important thing.”
O'Neill compared Hatate's situation to Paulo Bernardo, who has gone on loan to Gornik Zabrze because he wanted to play. “And while no one pushed him out the door he thought we might try to get another couple of players in so he has gone certainly until January,” O'Neill added.
Midfield crisis and transfer targets
Celtic are short in midfield after Arne Engels completed his £22million move to West Ham at the weekend. O'Neill was also rocked by the news that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain faces a three-match Euro ban from his time at Besiktas. New signing Mika Baur is in the frame after making his debut from the bench in the Premier Sports Cup win over Dundee United.
O'Neill has until tonight to make two changes to his squad, but Hatate's experience might be needed against the Austrian champions. The manager is also chasing more reinforcements, with Hajduk Split midfielder Niko Sigur high on the wishlist along with Torino's Gvidas Gineitis, while the Hoops have held talks with Blackburn keeper Balazs Toth.
LASK test and outcast Balikwisha
O'Neill warned his squad they face a tough test against LASK this week. He said: “The reports have come in that LASK are pretty strong. They won the Austrian double last season after coming from behind. They have a couple of decent players. There were easier ties out there.”
He recalled his own experiences in the play-offs during his first Celtic spell, including the epic win against Ajax in 2001 and the agonising loss to Basel two years later. “Ajax was a real high and then there was the real low of Basel. They were a fine side Basel, as they proved in subsequent years, knocking Manchester United out and so on. They could play and I’ve the same concerns about LASK.”
O'Neill also revealed that outcast Michel-Ange Balikwisha could be on his way. He said: “Again there has been interest, nothing that Balikwisha will be wanting to do at this moment. I’m hoping that at some stage if nothing materialises he would get opportunities but I cannot promise that. I said to him in my first spell that the next manager coming in might want him. Then he was disappointed the next manager was me!”
