Celtic's Midfield Dilemma Ahead of Champions League Clash
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill does not expect any late transfer drama before his side step into Champions League territory against LASK on Wednesday – and he is more than content if Reo Hatate is still his player when the deadline passes.
The clock is ticking towards Tuesday night’s cut-off, but O’Neill is not braced for a flurry of business. Asked if he anticipated movement, he admitted there was a “fairly decent chance of nothing happening”, a blunt assessment that underlines how settled he feels with what he has.
That does not mean the summer has been quiet. Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh have hit the ground running, injecting freshness and energy into the squad. Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan have also arrived, with Baur already edging into the frame at a crucial moment in Celtic’s season.
Engels gone, a gap to fill
The one major departure has changed the shape of O’Neill’s midfield. Arne Engels was sold to West Ham at the weekend, leaving a sizeable hole in the centre of the pitch just as Celtic prepare to face the Austrian side.
O’Neill made no attempt to disguise how big a miss Engels could be.
The club, he said, are “still in the process of finding a replacement” and he openly acknowledged it will be “hard to replace his running power” against LASK. Those legs, that ability to cover ground and press, had become a key part of Celtic’s European blueprint.
Ideally, Engels would still be around for these play-off games. O’Neill admitted as much, saying it “would have been nice to have kept Arne for the couple of games, because he knows the players, knows his role in the team”. Instead, Celtic must adapt on the fly.
Baur pushed towards a starting role
Sunday’s 4-0 win at Dundee United offered a glimpse of the immediate solution. Baur came off the bench on 59 minutes and did enough to push himself into the conversation for a starting place.
Circumstances are nudging him further forward. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is suspended. Hatate has yet to kick a ball this season. The options narrow, and Baur’s name naturally rises to the top of the list.
O’Neill hinted the German may be thrust straight into the starting XI but stopped short of confirming it. “It might be Baur, I'm not sure yet. He's just getting to know the team,” he said, leaving the door open to a late call in midfield.
Hatate at a crossroads
Then there is Reo Hatate. On paper, he is an obvious option in the middle of the park. In reality, his situation is more complex.
The Japan international has not started a game since a 2-0 defeat at Dundee United in April. This season, he has been an unused substitute, watching from the bench as others stake their claim. For a player who once dominated midfields in Scotland, it marks a sharp change in status.
Hatate joined Celtic in 2022 and still has two years left on his contract. His medal collection in Glasgow is substantial – five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups – yet his recent form has dipped.
O’Neill did not shy away from that. “It's been a bit of a struggle for him [of late],” he admitted, before laying down a clear challenge. What he wants, he said, is for Hatate to rediscover the form he showed “a couple of years ago when he was one of the best players in Scotland”.
There have been transfer enquiries. Nothing concrete yet, nothing that forces Celtic’s hand. “That may well happen,” O’Neill conceded, leaving the possibility of late movement alive without predicting it.
For now, the door remains open on both sides. “If Reo wants to stay and battle for his place in the team and says he's capable of doing it, I have no problem with that,” O’Neill said.
So Celtic head into a pivotal Champions League play-off with a midfield in flux: Engels gone, Baur emerging, Hatate at a crossroads. The deadline looms, but O’Neill seems ready to go with what he has. The real question is whether that mix will be enough when LASK arrive under the lights.
