# Reo Hatate
**Reo Hatate** (旗手 怜央; born 1997) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder and joined English Championship club Burnley in September 2026 after four and a half years at Celtic, where he won five [Scottish Premiership](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-premiership) titles, two Scottish Cups, and two Scottish League Cups.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1997, Suzuka, Mie, Japan[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) |
| Position | Central midfielder (also listed as defender/midfielder earlier in his career)[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [3](https://www.11v11.com/players/reo-hatate-269668/) |
| Clubs | Kawasaki Frontale (2018–2021), Celtic (January 2022 – September 2026), Burnley (2026–)[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [13](https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/players/reo-hatate) |
| Celtic record | 191 games, 33 goals; five league titles, two Scottish Cups, two League Cups[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no) |
| Move to Burnley | 1 September 2026, three-year contract, fee reported at about £6.5 million plus add-ons[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no) • [4](https://www.celticdna.com/p/how-much-did-celtic-receive-for-reo) |
| Japan | 11 senior caps at the time of the Burnley transfer; fourth place with Japan at the 2020 Olympic Games[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no) • [1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) |
| Individual honors | J-League Best XI 2021; PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year 2022/23[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) |
## Early career and Kawasaki Frontale
Hatate was born in Suzuka, Mie, and listed at 1.72 m and 70 kg.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [3](https://www.11v11.com/players/reo-hatate-269668/) He came through Juntendo University before joining [Kawasaki Frontale](https://www.edgepedia.org/kawasaki-frontale), initially on loan in the 2018/19 period and then permanently, according to his recorded transfer history.[13](https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/players/reo-hatate) He was registered by Kawasaki as a forward, number 30, in the club's 2020 squad profile.[5](https://www.frontale.co.jp/profile/2020/mem_30.html)
His final season in Japan was his most decorated. Kawasaki won the J-League for the second successive year, and Hatate was named in the J-League Best XI for the 2021 season alongside his future Celtic teammate [Daizen Maeda](https://www.edgepedia.org/daizen-maeda).[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) Earlier, he had appeared for Japan at the AFC U-23 Championship in China in 2018, where the tournament squad list recorded him as an 18-year-old forward born 21-11-1997.[6](https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/technical-reports/TSG-Report_-AFC-U23-Championship-China-2018.pdf)
## Celtic, 2022–2026
Hatate joined Celtic on a four-and-a-half-year contract during the January 2022 transfer window, signed by manager [Ange Postecoglou](https://www.edgepedia.org/ange-postecoglou) from Kawasaki Frontale for a fee reported at around £1 million, with other reports placing the figure at about £1.4 million or €1.5 million.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [4](https://www.celticdna.com/p/how-much-did-celtic-receive-for-reo) • [7](https://www.transferfeed.com/players/reo-hatate/218218)
His start in Glasgow was immediate. He made his debut on 17 January 2022 in a 2-0 home win over Hibernian with a man of the match performance, scored his first Celtic goal the following week in a 2-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle, and then scored twice and set up another in a 3-0 Glasgow derby victory over Rangers at [Celtic Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/celtic-park).[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [8](https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/september/02/best-wishes-to-reo-on-his-departure/) In that half-season he made 21 appearances and scored 4 goals as Celtic won the Scottish Premiership and the League Cup.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/)
**Recognition and silverware.** The 2022/23 season brought individual awards: inclusion in the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year, a nomination for the PFA Scotland Scottish Premiership Player of the Year award, and the Premiership Player of the Month award for February.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) Across his four and a half years at the club he accumulated five successive league titles, two Scottish Cups, and two League Cups, finishing with 33 goals in 191 games.[8](https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/september/02/best-wishes-to-reo-on-his-departure/) • [2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no) In 2024/25 he featured heavily in the Celtic side that won another cup double, the club's 12th SPFL title in 13 seasons plus the [Scottish Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-cup).[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/)
His final months at the club were unsettled. A knee injury picked up in a 5-1 win at Aberdeen kept him out around the 2025 Scottish Cup Final.[9](https://thecelticstar.com/raskin-hatate-and-miller-aspirations-and-realities-in-transfer-window/) In June 2026 he handed in a transfer request,[13](https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/players/reo-hatate) and he reportedly rejected offers from clubs in Greece, Austria, and America's MLS in August 2026 while holding out for a move to a major league.[10](https://www.thecelticwiki.com/hatate-reo/) His only appearances in the 2026/27 season before leaving came as a substitute in both legs of Celtic's Champions League play-off tie against Austrian champions LASK Linz.[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no)
## Japan international
Hatate represented Japan at the 2020 Olympic Games, held in the summer of 2021, wearing number 13; the team reached the last four before losing the bronze medal match to Mexico.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [11](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/144630) His senior debut came on 29 March 2022 in a 1-1 draw against Vietnam in Asian third-round World Cup qualifying.[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/reo-hatate-269668/)
He was a mainstay of the Japanese squad in 2023/24, appearing in World Cup qualifiers and at the 2023 [AFC Asian Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/afc-asian-cup), where he played in the group defeat to Iraq, the group win over Indonesia, and the round-of-16 win over Bahrain.[1](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/) • [3](https://www.11v11.com/players/reo-hatate-269668/) His recorded senior internationals also include the 6-0 win over [El Salvador](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-salvador) and the 4-1 win over Peru in the June 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup, at which he played 90 minutes in both matches under head coach Hajime Moriyasu.[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/reo-hatate-269668/) • [12](https://www.jfa.jp/national_team/samuraiblue/20230615/schedule_result/pdf/m01_eng.pdf) At the time of his move to Burnley he had 11 caps for Japan.[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no)
## Move to Burnley
On 1 September 2026, deadline day of the English transfer window, Burnley signed Hatate from the Scottish Premiership champions for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract at [Turf Moor](https://www.edgepedia.org/turf-moor), joining manager Nicky Hayen's squad.[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no) Reports put the guaranteed fee at about £6.5 million plus add-ons, with some outlets citing a base fee range of £6.5 million to £7.5 million.[4](https://www.celticdna.com/p/how-much-did-celtic-receive-for-reo) • [7](https://www.transferfeed.com/players/reo-hatate/218218) Celtic's reported asking price earlier in the summer had been around €14.2 million (£12 million), and the final figure was lower, a reduction attributed in transfer reporting to the player's stated desire to leave.[7](https://www.transferfeed.com/players/reo-hatate/218218)
**By the numbers.** The sale represented a profit of roughly £5 million for Celtic on a player signed for about £1 million, before any sell-on clause, which was reported as a possible 10 or 15 percent share.[4](https://www.celticdna.com/p/how-much-did-celtic-receive-for-reo) Hatate was the last of Celtic's much-discussed Japanese trio of his era to leave the club.[10](https://www.thecelticwiki.com/hatate-reo/) "This is a great move for me. It's my first time playing in England and it's a fantastic club to be joining," he told Burnley's website.[2](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no)
## References
1. [Reo Hatate player profile, Celtic FC](https://www.celticfc.com/players/reo-hatate/)
2. [Reo Hatate: Japanese international joins Burnley from Celtic, BBC Sport](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cd942qj313no)
3. [Reo Hatate Football Player Statistics, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/players/reo-hatate-269668/)
4. [How Much Did Celtic Receive for Reo Hatate? Transfer Fee and Profit Explained, Celtic DNA](https://www.celticdna.com/p/how-much-did-celtic-receive-for-reo)
5. [FW30 旗手 怜央選手, Kawasaki Frontale 2020 profile](https://www.frontale.co.jp/profile/2020/mem_30.html)
6. [TSG Report, AFC U-23 Championship China 2018](https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/technical-reports/TSG-Report_-AFC-U23-Championship-China-2018.pdf)
7. [Reo Hatate Transfers, TransferFeed](https://www.transferfeed.com/players/reo-hatate/218218)
8. [Best wishes to Reo on his departure, Celtic FC, 2 September 2026](https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/september/02/best-wishes-to-reo-on-his-departure/)
9. [Raskin, Hatate and Miller – Aspirations and realities in transfer window, The Celtic Star](https://thecelticstar.com/raskin-hatate-and-miller-aspirations-and-realities-in-transfer-window/)
10. [Hatate, Reo – The Celtic Wiki](https://www.thecelticwiki.com/hatate-reo/)
11. [Reo Hatate, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/144630)
12. [Japan v El Salvador match report PDF, Japan Football Association, 15 June 2023](https://www.jfa.jp/national_team/samuraiblue/20230615/schedule_result/pdf/m01_eng.pdf)
13. [Reo Hatate Transfer News, History, Market Value & Career Stats, FootballTransfers](https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/players/reo-hatate)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania › East Asian footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license