Ex-Celtic defender Mark Wilson has singled out Reo Hatate for praise after his display against Rangers in the League Cup final.

Hatate’s teammate Kyogo Furuhashi received most of the plaudits after scoring a crucial brace during the 2-1 win on Sunday but Wilson believes Hatate deserves a special mention:

“He was incredible. You see his movement and the running off the ball that he does, but his quality on the ball was what set him apart. I thought he was head and shoulders above the rest and he had an involvement in the two goals.”

“I think Hatate’s been the star for them this year in all competitions and, when you do it in a final, it obviously stands out a bit more. I was surprised when Ange Postecoglou chose to take him off when he did because Rangers were coming into the game at that point, it was a bit on a knife edge.”

There is no doubt that manager Ange Postecoglou has discovered a diamond in Hatate. Very few had heard of the 25-year-old before he made the switch from Kawasaki Frontale in January last year, but he is now an integral member of the Hoops’ first team.

It was a perplexing decision to leave the midfielder out of Japan’s World Cup squad and the fact that he has just one senior cap to his name is pretty shocking.

However, Celtic have reaped the benefits of Hatate being snubbed at international level. He has been consistently excellent since the return of domestic football and he really looks like he has something to prove.