By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
A report from The i Paper has linked West Ham with Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate, suggesting the Japanese international is among the players being considered as the Hammers continue their summer rebuild.
Regular Claret & Hugh readers may remember we revealed a couple of weeks ago that West Ham had identified three Celtic players as transfer targets. At the time, we also revealed that one of those players was Japanese, although the identities remained undisclosed.
With Hatate’s name now emerging from an entirely separate source, it certainly makes for an interesting development.
West Ham Need To Get Busy
Following the sales of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville, West Ham have brought in significant transfer funds and, with the Championship season fast approaching, we’re going to need to get busy in the market.
Looking at his reports, early indications would suggest Hatate has the technical skills which could prove useful.
Ever since Lucas Paquetá departed, West Ham have lacked that creative spark in midfield. Hatate’s passing range, intelligence on the ball and ability to play in a variety of midfield roles suggest he could help fill that void.
Koppen’s Influence Is Beginning To Show
As Claret & Hugh previously reported, West Ham’s interest in Celtic was largely driven by recruitment director Nils Koppen, whose extensive knowledge of the Scottish game stems from his time as technical director at Rangers.
It also sounds as though Koppen and Nuno Espírito Santo are already working closely together.
“Nils is a top professional, fantastic person. He’s adapting well to the club. We are working, trying to do things different, but avoid mistakes, get it right. The right pieces for our project. Soon, soon. We expect to have the squad ready.”
That quote probably tells us more than it first appears.
Rather than rushing into signings, West Ham seem determined to recruit players who hopefully fit the long-term project… something we’ve been incredibly poor at over the years.
If Hatate is one of those names, then on paper at least, it looks a move that would make plenty of sense.
Not sure this is a signing that fits the long term, Gonzo. Celtic aren’t exactly world beaters these days and how would he fit in in the premier league if we do get promoted?
I’m happy to pocket some of the cash influx for this year if it means we have more to spend next summer hopefully looking at premier league football again. I think retaining the players we have is the biggest win we could have, and I don’t want to spend money on players who aren’t fit for the premier league and then we’re back to spending money we don’t have next summer. A couple pieces here and there but we’ll hopefully need that money next summer so we can really get after long term targets for the top flight.
The past three years have made it very difficult not to be negative, so please forgive me for that. Has the rebuild actually started? Who did we buy? It is looking to me as though company policy is to get through this transfer window spending as little as possible and using any gains to pay off debts. That will result in a huge reliance on the academy players that so far have not really cut it in the senior team, at least until January. Is that the plan?
As we have already said, things need to get moving pdq if a rebuild is going to happen.
I am honest, the japanese and Korean are hardworking class of footballer who will give everything to the badge of the club. I am surprise all these years we have ignore these market.
Hatate is more than capable of completely disappearing in a match if he doesn’t fancy it – add that to his natural inconsistency, and you have a player not good enough for the Irons.