Rodgers must unleash Celtic's "outstanding" talent in the McGregor role
da apostaganha： Even though Celtic are a whopping 16 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, supporters worldwide will all be desperate for this side to beat fierce rivals Rangers in Sunday’s Glasgow derby.
da pinup bet： When they most recently met in January, Rangers demolished Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox, a repeat of the scoreline that went the way of the Hoops back in September.
Given that the Gers are without a manager, have lost two of their last three Premiership fixtures and were taken to extra time by Fenerbahçe on Thursday, you have to make Brendan Rodgers’ side overwhelming favourites to dish out some derby day revenge.
However, the home side could be without their most-important player, so does that redress the balance somewhat?
Callum McGregor's importance to Celtic
As reported by Ross Pilcher of the Daily Record, captain Callum McGregor is a doubt ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm due to a ‘calf injury’ suffered towards the end of last weekend’s Scottish Cup victory over Hibs.
The captain admitted he’d not been able to take part in group training this week, reduced to “individual work with the physios”, although he is still optimistic he’ll be available, adding that one always “wants to play in these games.”
However, should McGregor be sidelined, this would be a major blow given that, as noted by Kieran Devlin of the Athletic, he is Celtic’s ‘most important player’ due to his ‘tactical intelligence’, ‘leadership’ and ‘quality’.
If the Bhoys go on to complete the treble this season, the 31-year-old would become the club’s joint-most decorated player of all-time, joining Bobby Lennox with 25 major honours.
He has also become only the 14th player to reach 500 appearances for the club, with manager Rodgers describing him as “the beating heart of the team”.
So, how on earth do you go about replacing someone that important? Well, Celtic might just have the perfect player to fill the void.
Celtic's midfield maestro
As the saying goes, it’s important to always make a good first impression, and Reo Hatate certainly did that after arriving from Kawasaki Frontale for a reported fee of just £1.4m in January 2022.
On his debut against Hibernian, Hatate was named man of the match following a ‘captivating display’, leading to this hilarious clip of him finding out; having been taken off, he asked substitute James Forrest why his name had been announced over the tannoy, before being both pleasantly surprised and pleased to find out.
A week later, he scored a thunderbolt at Tynecastle, before netting twice as Celtic hammered Rangers 3-0 at Parkhead soon after, with Andrew Smith of the Scotsman noting the Japanese midfielder has been ‘central’ to Celtic’s success since his arrival.
Meantime, Declan McConville of Glasgow World labels him ‘exceptional’, former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart believes he is “top-class”, while his manager describes him as an “outstanding player”.
In total, Hatate has now made 133 appearances in hoops, scoring 23 goals and registering 24 assists, predominantly deployed as a number eight, but occasionally filling in deeper, most notably doing so against RB Leipzig in the Champions League when McGregor was nursing a knee injury.
So, let’s assess how the duo compare.
Callum McGregor vs Reo Hatate 2024/25 comparison
Statistics
McGregor
Hatate
Appearances
44
46
Minutes
3,786
3,155
Goals
9
7
Assists
1
5
Pass completion %
94.1%
80.1%
Progressive passes
45
38
Shot-creating actions
13
19
Big chances created
4
13
Touches per 90 (UCL only)
69.7
57.7
% of dribblers tackled
37.5%
58.3%
Interceptions
32
10
Ball recoveries
47
38
% of ground duels won
54.7%
49.9%
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt, Sofascore and FBref.com
The table produces some very interesting statistics, highlighting the fundamental similarities, but also the key differences, between McGregor and Hatate.
McGregor dictates the tempo, as noted by Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman, while Hatate operates higher up the park, hence why he’s recorded more assists and created more than three times as many big changes this season.
Nevertheless, the Japanese international compares favourably when it comes to touches per 90, pass completion percentage and defensive metrics, such as tackles, interceptions and, most of all, ball recoveries, underlining that he would be the natural choice to be deployed at the base of midfield, should McGregor be forced to sit out on Sunday’s derby.
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