Tottenham could be in the January market for a central midfielder
Tottenham Hotspur have a need to bring in a midfielder in the 2025 transfer interval owing to a lack of depth in that position, and the club chiefs have been scouring the market for potential options.
Rodrigo Bentancur starting a seven-game domestic ban since last month has limited options for Ange Postecoglou to choose from in the middle of the park. A No.6 by trade, Archie Gray—signed from Leeds United in the summer—has been used all across the defence due to injuries to Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies.
Ange Postecoglou has a history of signing players he has worked with previously. The Greek-Aussie tactician signed several players for J-League during his time at Celtic, and that helped the Hoops to incredible success during his time in Scotland. While he has yet to raid Celtic since becoming the Spurs boss in 2023, the temptation will always be there.
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Speaking on The Spurs Chat Podcast, journalist Josh Hughes has been discussing some of Tottenham’s potential January business. He thinks a move for Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate could be a feasible option for the North Londoners.
“The last midfielder I’m going to talk about is Reo Hatate. He scored one of the penalties in the shootout against Rangers in the recent Scottish Cup final,” Josh Hughes said on the Spurs Chat Podcast.
“Of course, he’s played with an Ange Postecoglou and has won lots of trophies. For a player to have played with Ange and for him to know and trust that player, he has got an immense work rate. Every time I have watched him I’ve been impressed with him, and he does like a goal or two as well.
He’s one that I could certainly see happening. And I think if a club like Spurs go in with a fairly reasonable transfer fee, Celtic will find it hard to stop him from leaving.”
Hughes has given a glowing endorsement about Hatate, who was a very important player for Big Ange at Celtic. The 10-cap Japanese international has racked up 112 appearances for Celtic, scoring 21 goals and 20 assists. He is a smart midfielder with a creative edge and tireless work rate off the ball, which made him such a good fit in Big Ange’s system at Celtic Park.
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The 27-year-old is in the prime stages of his career and would be a strong squad option at Tottenham. Hatate has the qualities to thrive in the Premier League, and with the club planning to offload Yves Bissouma next year, the Celtic star could be a fine potential replacement for the Malian.
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That said, this is definitely a situation for the Lilywhites to keep an eye on as we head into the winter transfer window.
