Celtic are “well down the road” to securing the signing of Kawasaki Frontale utility player Reo Hatate, according to journalist Stephen McGowan.

The reporter, who is usually reliable when it comes to the Hoops, retweeted his story on the back page of Scottish Daily Mail revealing the news about the Scottish club’s move for Hatate:

Today’s ⁦@ScotMailSport⁩ back page… pic.twitter.com/iZDQDqzBBW

— Sportsmail (@ScotMailSport) November 27, 2021

Hatate is a very versatile player, with the Japanese international having played at left-back, as a central midfielder and number ten for Kawasaki so far this season.

The player seemingly waved goodbye to fans after his side’s 1-1 draw against Urawa Reds earlier this month, but his move to Parkhead has yet to be confirmed

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has emphasised the need to bring in reinforcements after the Hoops were dumped out of the Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen earlier this week. The Australian said he needed more depth to compete with the best teams:

“We know we need more players in certain areas, ones who can help us to bridge the gap. You look at Leverkusen and they have quality all the way through. What we want to do is compete at that level. We need to improve our squad and add depth so we can compete in lots of competitions.”

It seems that Hatate will be one of those who is brought in to give Postecoglou extra options in the second half of the season.