REO HATATE is determined to show the a packed Parkhead he is the real deal when he gets the opportunity to show why Ange Postecoglou brought him to Celtic.
The inventive playmaker arrived as part of the Greek-Australian’s exciting triple swoop on the J-League on Hogmanay which included striker Daizen Maeda and midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi.
Now all eyes are on the Premiership encounter with Hibs in the east end of Glasgow on Monday evening when there will be no crowd restrictions after the three-week winter break.
The Hoops signed off 2021 in front of only 500 St Johnstone supporters at McDiarmid Park on Boxing Day when a double from Liel Abada and an addition from captain-for-the-day Nir Bitton made certain of a 3-1 victory.
REO DEAL…new Bhoy Reo Hatate proudly holds his new No.41 Celtic top.
It will be an entirely situation when the league restarts against the Edinburgh club who made Postecoglou’s men battle back from a goal adrift to win the Premier Sports League Cup with a second-half double from Kyogo Furuhashi at a rocking Hampden last month.
New Bhoy Reo hopes to get the nod to make a quickfire debut in front of his new supporters and admitted: “Celtic Park is obviously extremely historical and at the moment Celtic are doing extremely well, so I imagine the fans will be really excited to come and watch us play.
“My goal is to show my style of football to the fans as soon as possible and contribute towards their excitement.”
Preparing to play under the guidance of Postecoglou, the ambitious 24-year-old star, speaking to the club website, said: “I know him really well from Japan. When you observe his games, it’s so obvious that his style of football is fun to watch and attacking-based, so I’m really excited to be joining the team.
HERE COME THE NEW BHOYS…Yosuke Ideguchi leads out Daizan Maeda and Reo Hatate for a first look at Celtic Park.
“I feel excited towards the game, but at the same time I want to compete to be able to be in the team, so I’m working really hard towards that.
“In terms of the past week, I have been walking around Glasgow, enjoying the scenery and the buildings and the different culture. The people have been really nice here, so I’m settling in well.”
Reo added: “Personally, I’m best in attacking-related positions, so midfield attacker is probably my best place.
“However if, the manager wants me to play in different positions, I’m mentally prepared and ready to play in different positions, as well.
“Of course, the training style is different and the culture over here is super-different, so when it comes to play speed, it’s really fast over here and the defence style is also different.”
There is every chance Reo will get to sample the change at first-hand against Shaun Maloney’s men in five days’ time.
