da dobrowin： Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side head into Thursday’s Europa Conference League play-off second-leg knowing that they require something of a miracle if they are to secure passage through to the next round of the tournament, with the Bhoys having been on the receiving end of a rather convincing 3-1 defeat against Bodo/Glimt at Parkhead last week.
da supremo： However, with the 56-year-old Hoops boss springing something of a surprise in his team selection for the first leg of the tie, namely starting Tom Rogic alongside Matt O’Riley in the two more advanced roles within his three-man midfield, there would appear to be a very clear solution to the Greek-Australian manager affording his side a greater level of control in the middle of the park in Norway this week – starting Reo Hatate.
Postecoglou must unleash Hatate
Indeed, following the Japan international’s £1.4m signing in the January transfer window, Hatate has immediately proven to be something of a revelation in the Bhoys midfield over his seven Premiership appearances, with the 24-year-old having already scored three goals, registered two assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making one key pass per game.
The £1.08m-rated central midfielder has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 0.7 tackles, completing 34 passes and winning 2.9 duels per fixture.
These returns have seen the player who Liverpool’s Andy Robertson dubbed a “serious player” and Aston Villa’s John McGinn labelled “outrageous” average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.24, already ranking him as the tenth-best player in the top flight of Scottish football.
As such, while Rogic is undeniably a fine option in the Premiership, considering the fact that Hatate contributed a great deal more for Celtic over his 31 minutes on the pitch than the Australia international did over 59 minutes in the first leg against the Norwegian champions, Postecoglou simply must learn from his mistake and unleash the tireless Japanese sensation from the off this time around – as the 24-year-old could well prove to be a game-changer in the middle of the park.
In other news: Celtic’s £12.5k-p/w Kante wannabe has seen his value drop 60%, Lennon had a nightmare