Celtic enjoyed a very successful month in May as Brendan Rodgers lifted two trophies in his first year back in the dugout with the Scottish giants.
The Northern Irish boss came back for a second spell at Parkhead last summer after Ange Postecoglou decided to join Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and added two pieces of silverware to the cabinet.
May saw the Hoops secure the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup, as Adam Idah's 90th minute goal in the final at Hampden Park was enough to beat Rangers.
It is now down to the Bhoys to ensure that they enjoy a successful summer transfer window, which officially opened for business last Friday, to compete for more trophies next season.
The midfield is one area that could be looked at by Rodgers after Reo Hatate's injury issues and Paulo Bernardo's return to Benfica upon the expiry of his loan deal with the club.
Celtic's interest in bargain swoop for playmaker
Earlier this year, Football Scotland reported that the Hoops are one of the teams interested in a swoop to sign Callum O'Hare on a free transfer this summer.
The attacking midfielder's contract with English Championship side Coventry City is due to expire at the end of the month, which looks set to open the door for the Scottish giants to potentially snap up a bargain deal for the talented whiz.
Football Scotland described the club's interest in the former Aston Villa youngster as 'genuine' but added that a 'plethora' of English teams are also keen on securing his signature.
The outlet also stated that the Premiership champions could have reached out to speak with the player's representatives towards the end of the campaign to discuss a move, but it remains to be seen whether or not that ended up being the case.
It was recently reported by TEAMtalk that the 26-year-old magician has turned down the chance to put pen to paper on a new deal with the Sky Blues, which means that he will be available for £0 at the start of next month.
However, they added that Leeds United, Burnley, and Southampton are all monitoring his situation ahead of a possible swoop for his services.
This shows that Celtic will face very strong competition to sign O'Hare this summer as at least one Premier League side, the Saints, could make a move for the right-footed playmaker.
Rodgers could now land Hatate 2.0 by winning the race to sign the Coventry star on a free transfer ahead of their English rivals at the start of July.
Reo Hatate's season in numbers for Celtic
The Scottish giants may want to add another midfielder who can step up and play in place of the Japan international when needed next season, due to his injury issues during the 2023/24 campaign.
He had never missed more than eight games in a single year prior to the season but suffered from multiple hamstring and calf issues for club and country.
Hatate ended up missing a staggering 40 games for Japan and Celtic combined, through two separate calf injuries and one hamstring problem, and that restricted his impact on the pitch for the side.
The 26-year-old only made 16 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, with 12 starts, last term after he had played 32 times in Postecoglou's final year in Glasgow.
Standing at 5 foot 8, the Japanese maestro is not a physically imposing figure in the middle of the park and the bulk of his contributions come from his impressive work in possession, particularly in the final third.
Starts
12
Goals
3
Assists
4
Key passes per game
1.1
Duel success rate
49%
As you can see in the table above, the Hoops star was directly involved in seven goals in just 12 starts in the Premiership last season – more than one every other start on average.
He also created 1.1 chances per game on average, which speaks to how often the talented ace looked to create opportunities for his teammates, but lost more duels than he won – illustrating his lack of strength out of possession.
Celtic could now land Hatate 2.0 by signing another undersized midfielder who can provide excellent quality on the ball whilst not being particularly strong off it.
Why Callum O'Hare could be Reo Hatate
Firstly, the English whiz is also not a physically imposing figure in midfield as he stands at 5 foot 9 and his main strengths come from his work in possession.
The right-footed midfielder lost 54% of his duels and 51% of his ground duels in the Championship for Coventry last season, which shows that opposition players got the better of him more often than not in physical contests.
That was also the case for Hatate in the Premiership but, like the Japan international, O'Hare, who EFL presenter Gabriel Sutton claimed offers "stardust", has the ability on the ball to make up for his lack of physicality.
The English magician missed 37 games with a knee injury between December 2022 and October 2023 but came back and showcased glimpses of his attacking talent last term.
Starts
18
12
Goals
6
3
Assists
3
4
Big chances created
4
3
Key passes per game
1.2
1.1
Dribbles completed per game
0.7
0.8
As you can see in the table above, O'Hare racked up nine direct goal contributions in just 18 Championship starts as a midfielder during the 2023/24 campaign.
He has produced 22 goals and 30 assists in 182 games for the Sky Blues throughout his career and racked up eight league assists in two of the last four years.
These statistics show that the diminutive ace has the quality to provide a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a central midfield position for Celtic, playing alongside the likes of Matt O'Riley, Tomoki Iwata, and Callum McGregor.
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O'Hare could, therefore, come in as Hatate 2.0 as an attack-minded midfielder who does not offer much physicality but makes up for it with his ability on the ball, which is why Rodgers should push to bring him to Parkhead this summer.