Celtic central midfielder Reo Hatate was an unused substitute in Sunday’s 2-2 Scottish Premiership draw with Hearts at Tynecastle.
The Japan international was left on the bench by coach Martin O’Neill days after his red card affected Thursday night’s 2-2 draw with Bologna in the Europa League.
However, his performances in the Premiership were generally underwhelming, so the standard bearer could have been left out of the squad even without a red card in Europe.
According to SofaScore, the experienced midfielder has one goal and two assists in 19 league games for the Hoops, while averaging just 1.0 tackles and interceptions per game, meaning he has little influence on games in and out of possession.
Celtic enter race to sign new midfielder
Hatate’s chances of starting in the second half of the season could be further affected by the potential addition of new players to his pitch area.
According to Danish outlet Tipsbladet, Celtic are one of the clubs interested in signing SK Brann central midfielder Felix Horn Miffle in the January transfer window.
According to reports, the Hoops have entered the race to sign the 26-year-old midfield maestro, but it will be a late move for the Norwegian talent before the window closes early next week.
He added that Brondby are also keen to swoop in for a central midfielder and are preparing an offer of around £2.6m to lure Brann in for their star player.
However, Tipsbladet did not reveal whether the reigning Premiership champions would be prepared to meet Brondby’s £2.6m offer to secure his services.
Why Celtic should sign Muifre
The Hoops should push to beat Brondby in the coming days as he could arrive at Parkhead as the standard-bearer upgrade O’Neill needs.
As mentioned above, the Japanese national team has not achieved enough in possession or on the ball to justify continuing in the starting lineup in the Premiership. That’s why it could be beneficial to bring in a new midfielder to increase competition in that position.
Maifre, unlike this season’s standard bearer, is a central midfielder who can influence the game in all aspects. Because he has quality defensively, in transition and in the final third. That means he’s never away from the game and never misses a game.
The 26-year-old star, described by scout Axel Moen as having a ‘big’ profile in midfield, has scored 11 goals and provided 14 assists in the last three seasons for Eliteserien, according to SofaScore, showing he provides a threat from midfield posting to the top end of the pitch.
He also completed at least 34 dribbles in each of the league seasons, according to SofaScore. So while the Norwegian treasure has the quality and mobility to constantly take on opposition players to get his team up the pitch, the flag bearer has never completed more than 26 dribbles in a single Premiership season.
2025 – 25/26 season | Flagbearer (Prime Minister) | Maile (Elite Series) |
|---|---|---|
Appearance | 19 | twenty four |
the goal | 1 | 4 |
assist | 2 | 3 |
Tackles + Interceptions per game | 1.0 | 2.1 |
Duels won per match | 2.3 | 4.8 |
Ground duel success rate | 47% | 53% |
Statistics by Sofascore | ||
As you can see from the table above, Mayfre also outperforms Hatate in off-the-ball statistics in the 2025 Elite Series, winning more tackles, duels, and interceptions, as well as being more efficient in duels.
These stats suggest Blanc’s star player will be a big upgrade for the Japanese midfielder. This is because he has the potential to be more defensive, dribble in transition and contribute in the final third with goals and assists.
If Mayfre is able to adapt to Scottish football and the Premiership and carry over his performances for the Eliteserien to Glasgow, the standard-bearer could find it increasingly difficult to find a place in the starting eleven in the future.
However, the increased competition for spots that this deal brings could also give the Japan international the motivation he needs to return to his best in a Celtic shirt to compete for his place.
Celtic could accept £4m bid for Maeda upgrade
Celtic have been told how long it will take to sign one of their reported transfer targets before the end of the window.
Celtic must therefore push to get this deal done, both because of the quality of his signing, but also because of the potential it brings to the team as a whole.
