Celtic and their work in the transfer market over the past two years has been simply outstanding.
I mean, it’s always been decent in terms of getting a decent return for players but in terms of success rates for signings, I have never known such a time since the Martin O’Neill era.
The signing of Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Joe Hart have reinvigorated this team and couple with the stunning form of players already at the club like Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston, we have never been so spoiled as fans in terms of a side being choc full of talent.
But it is just one man that is hogging all the headlines at the moment and deservedly so.
Reo Hatate.
The Japanese midfielder has been an absolute revelation for the Hoops since his £1.4m move from Kawasaki Frontale.
I’m telling you now, Ange Postecoglou must have been wearing a mask and brandishing some sort of weapon to get him for that price because he has been sensational for us.
In 54 appearances, the 25 year old has scored 12 goals and created 11 assists. And coupled with his performances in Europe this season, the Japanese international midfielder is certainly garnering all the plaudits.
So when it was suggested that Hatate has the potential to be a £60m player, Paul John Dykes found that extremely hard to disagree with.
Speaking on A Celtic State of Mind, Paul John said of Hatate, “I don’t think there’ll be a day in my lifetime that Celtic will have a £60 million pound sale.
“But as we spoke about before Frimpong went to Bayer Leverkusen for I think £11 million. Was that the fee?
“And they’re now talking about him the reals of £50 million players.
“So I don’t disagree I just don’t think it will be a £60 million sale from Celtic.
“If he was to progress the way that van Dijk did when he went to Southampton or Frimpong when he went to Bayer Leverkusen, absolutely.
“That’s the kind of ballpark we’re looking at.
“I just don’t want to lose him. I don’t want to lose Hatate.
“I think that what we’ve seen of him he’s just a sensational footballer, and I still think there’s a wee bit in his tank that Ange can tap into.”
And this is the part that frustrates me as a fan.
I have said consistently that football clubs in England suffer from snobbery when they view our game.
Look at the number of players that have went through a ‘middleman type club’ in order to get their big move. The Virgil van Dijk’s, the Victor Wanyama’s.
Hell, even Kieran Tierney was undersold to Arsenal because he was sold from us. If we were an EPL side we would have probably doubled that fee.
But that is where we are at.
And for now, let’s just enjoy Hatate whilst we have him because it certainly won’t be long until a club comes sniffing for him.