TOP HAT & TALES

Not so easy for Rodgers to suss out Reo's next move

- By Michael Gannon

REO HATATE’S long-term future at Celtic could be in doubt amid Italian transfer interest - and manager Brendan Rodgers admits he hasn’t always found it easy to read the Japanese international.

It took the Northern Irishman longer than usual to work out what makes the midfielder tick, and it’s soon going to be time to pick his brains again.

Hatate has been one of the star turns of the season and has been superb in his three-and-a-half years at Parkhead.

The 27-year-old is under lock and key with a contract until 2028, but there’s already talk of interest in his services from Udinese and across the continent.

Rodgers knows where the sweet spot is with some players when it comes to cashing in and it could be that time is approaching with Hatate. Rodgers would love to keep the playmaker for the long term - but he knows he'll have to get in his head again.

He said: “The club will always sit down with the representatives. I know [chief executive] Michael Nicholson will be doing that over the course of these coming months with all the players and the negotiations.

“But yes, a really gifted player and this is what, his fourth season here? We'll see what that looks like in the summer. It took me a wee while to get inside him, his mind and everything else, but he’s absolutely superb.