Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was clearly not happy with his options in central midfield after the January transfer window closed last Monday evening. – While the Hoops added five new faces to the squad, including three on the last day of the deadline, all were new additions either for defence or attack.
That meant Celtic started exploring deals for free agents after the window slammed shut, and a deal with former AC Milan and Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko collapsed when O’Neill shifted his focus to persuading Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to move to Parkhead.
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Now that the transfer of the former Arsenal and Liverpool star has been completed, the Northern Irish manager has some important choices to make.
Paulo Bernardo’s problems continue at Celtic.
Paulo Bernardo has struggled to get game time at Celtic this season, after joining the club on a five-year contract in 2024 following a successful loan.
The Portuguese midfielder has essentially proven to be a flop since then, and he has been an unused reserve in their previous five caps.
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The 24-year-old had a rare opportunity to impress in this weekend’s fifth round cup match against Dundee at Celtic Park, but it ended miserably when he was taken off at half-time by O’Neill and replaced by Benjamin Nygren.
His performance was described as ‘anonymous’, after the Glasgow giants turned down a loan request from an undisclosed Danish side in the final days of the January transfer window.
While Bernardo’s future is certainly seriously at stake, with other transfer windows around Europe and the world still open and Oxlade-Chamberlain’s arrival, it could be time for another Celtic player to disappear as well.
Celtic need a bigger refresh in the summer, no matter how this season ends, and one of the players who will have to leave in 2026 is Reo Hatate. The Japanese international once took games by the scruff of the neck for the Bhoys and was the subject of a rejected £10 million offer from France in the summer of 2024.
But, just 18 months later, the 28-year-old is not performing at the level he once did in the green and white shirt.
He, like Bernardo, was given a rare opportunity in the starting eleven against Dundee after starting just two of Celtic’s previous eight Scottish Premiership games.
But even though he was doing better than his Portuguese teammate, he still wasn’t at his height, and the Bhoys now need to get rid of him as soon as possible.
It was only last week that it emerged that Hatate had been offered to Brazilian club Palmeiras by intermediaries, suggesting that he is open to an immediate departure.
With their transfer window open until March 3, there is an opportunity to secure an exit in the coming days – whether on loan or permanently.
The arrows have been pointing downwards for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain since he left Liverpool for Turkey three years ago. “The hope is that Celtic will represent a positive change.
Oxlade-Chamberlain’s deal is said to be for six months plus the possibility of an extension.
