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Celtic receive Hatate transfer enquiries, Balikwisha update

Martin O'Neill has issued an update on the futures of Reo Hatate and Michel-Ange Balikwisha. <i>(Image: Shutterstock)</i>
Martin O'Neill has issued an update on the futures of Reo Hatate and Michel-Ange Balikwisha. (Image: Shutterstock)
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Manager Martin O'Neill says Celtic have received 'tentative enquiries' for midfielder Reo Hatate.

Hatate previously informed the club of his desire to depart after falling out of favour, but O'Neill would be happy to keep the 28-year-old around if nothing materialises between now and the end of the summer transfer window.

"I think there are a number of tentative enquiries. Nothing has come up that is beneficial to him or the football club," O'Neill explained. "But that might change. If it did not change, I would be happy.

"Reo is a fine footballer. He has dropped down the pecking order at this moment. But if he could recapture the form he showed two seasons ago he would still be an asset.

"Any player who feels as if they are being squeezed and they want to play and they feel they are not going to play then playing is the most important thing.

"But like Paulo [Bernardo] – he has gone on loan because he did not want to be sitting in the stands for games. And while no one pushed him out the door he thought we might try to get another couple of players in, so he has gone on loan certainly until January."

Reo Hatate has yet to feature for Celtic this season. (Image: Stuart Wallace / Shutterstock)

Speculation also surrounds the future of Michel-Ange Balikwisha. He has failed to impress since joining Celtic for £5 million from Royal Antwerp last summer, amassing just three competitive starts and scoring no goals.

"Again, there has been interest, nothing that Balikwisha will be wanting to do at this moment," O'Neill added. "I am hoping that at some stage or another, if nothing materialises, he would get opportunities, but I cannot promise that.

"I said to him in my first spell that the next manager coming in might want him. And then he was disappointed when the next manager was me!"

O'Neill is preparing his team for one of their most important matches of the season.

LASK visit Celtic Park on Wednesday evening for the first leg of the Champions League playoff.

"The reports have come in that they are pretty strong," he said. "They won the Austrian double last season after coming from behind.

"They have a couple of decent players. There were easier ties out there.

"It is a big week with the qualifier on the back of a cup tie. But the game is stressful enough. You talk about alleviating the stress but that’s never been the case with me.

"I have experienced it. Ajax was a real high and then there was the real low of Basel.

"They were a very fine side Basel, as they proved in the subsequent years, knocking Manchester United out and so on. They could play and I have the same concerns about LASK."


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O'Neill brought new signings Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan off the bench in Celtic's win over Dundee United on Saturday to build up their fitness for LASK.

His team scored four goals through as many different players at Tannadice.

"It’s good to have that firepower," O'Neill added. "Hassiem coming in, you’d probably want to play him wide right, where he can beat players and go outside.

"It’s about looking at systems we want to play. We’ve been pretty rigid in 4-3-3, but we should be able to change.

"I think [Camilo] Duran is a fine player and I don’t see why he couldn’t play just off the centre forward.

"Therefore we have to look at different ways of playing. It shouldn’t be that difficult, in terms of shifting players a few yards, but it’s just a case of practising it.

"It’s far better to have the options. Of course it is. Sometimes you think, ‘Oh gosh, how are we going to do this?’, but sometimes it just develops."

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