Celtic central midfielder Reo Hatate was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw with Hearts in the Scottish Premiership at Tynecastle on Sunday.
The Japan international was left on the bench by Martin O’Neill just days after his red card played a part in the 2-2 draw with Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Hatate may have been dropped from the side even without his red card in Europe, though, as his performances in the Premiership have been underwhelming on the whole.
The experienced midfielder has produced one goal and two assists in 19 league outings for the Hoops, per Sofascore, whilst he has only averaged 1.0 tackles and interceptions per game, which shows that he is rarely impacting games in or out of possession.
Celtic join the race to sign new midfielder
Hatate’s chances to start games in the second half of the season could be further impacted by the potential addition of a new player in his area of the pitch.
According to Danish outlet Tipsbladet, Celtic are one of the clubs interested in a deal to sign SK Brann central midfielder Felix Horn Myhre in the January transfer window.
The report claims that the Hoops have joined the race to sign the 26-year-old midfield maestro in what would be a late move for the Norwegian talent before the window slams shut at the start of next week.
It adds that Brondby are also keen on a swoop for the central midfielder and are preparing an offer of around £2.6m to tempt Brann into cashing in on their star player.
Tipsbladet, though, does not reveal whether or not the reigning Premiership champions are ready to match that £2.6m offer from Brondby to secure his services.
Why Celtic should sign Myhre
The Hoops should be pushing to beat Brondby to his signature in the coming days because he could arrive at Parkhead as the upgrade on Hatate that O’Neill needs.
As aforementioned, the Japan international has not offered enough in or out of possession to justify his continued inclusion in the starting line-up, certainly in the Premiership, which is why bringing in a new midfielder to increase competition in that position could be useful.
Myhre, unlike Hatate on this season’s evidence, is a central midfielder who can influence a game in all phases, because he has quality defensively, in transition, and in the final third, which means that he is never too far away from the action and does not go missing in games.
The 26-year-old star, who was described as a “big” midfield profile by scout Axel Moen, has produced 11 goals and 14 assists in the last three Eliteserien campaigns combined, per Sofascore, which shows that he offers a threat at the top end of the pitch from his midfield posting.
He also completed at least 34 dribbles in each of those league seasons, per Sofascore. The Norwegian gem, therefore, has the quality and mobility to consistently take on opposition players to bring his team up the pitch, whilst Hatate has never managed more than 26 dribbles in a single Premiership campaign.
|
2025 – 25/26 season |
Hatate (Premiership) |
Myhre (Eliteserien) |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
19 |
24 |
|
Goals |
1 |
4 |
|
Assists |
2 |
3 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
1.0 |
2.1 |
|
Duels won per game |
2.3 |
4.8 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
47% |
53% |
As you can see in the table above, Myhre also has the beating of Hatate with his statistics off the ball in the 2025 Eliteserien, winning more tackles, duels, and interceptions, whilst also being more efficient in his duels.
These statistics suggest that the Brann star would be a big upgrade on the Japanese midfielder because he has the potential to offer more defensively, in transition with his dribbles, and in the final third with goals and assists.
If Myhre adapts to Scottish football and the Premiership and is able to carry his performances in the Eliteserien over to Glasgow, it could be increasingly difficult for Hatate to find a place in the starting XI moving forward.
However, it could also give the Japan international the motivation that he needs to get back to his very best in a Celtic shirt to fight for his place, with the added competition for places that this signing would bring.
Celtic could see £4m bid accepted to sign an upgrade on Maeda
Celtic have been told how much it could take to sign one of their reported transfer targets before the end of the window.
Therefore, Celtic must push to get this deal done both because of the quality of signing that he could be, but also because of what it could do for the squad overall.