The ball is comfortably in Celtic’s court regarding Reo Hatate

It was reported this morning that Reo Hatate has turned down the clubs opening offer of a contract extension, but is open to negotiation after the closure of the summer transfer window.

The Japanese playmaker is well within his rights as he’s only looking after himself, but it shouldn’t be that much of a worry as he still has three years of his current deal to go. Reo will have undoubtedly attracted attention elsewhere due to his spectacular performances for the club. He’s been one of our best signings of recent years and has more than paid back his reputed fee of £1.2 million.

His reluctance to extend his stay at this stage will undoubtedly raise question marks over his future with the club. With only ten days or so remaining in the current window it will be interesting to see the clubs stance if a suitable bid is made for the player.

But there is no need to panic just yet, with three years still remaining on his contract, the ball is still firmly in the club’s court. Reo seems happy at the club and it should be put to him that another year at Celtic would do him no harm at all. If he puts in more brilliant performances on a regular basis he will have his pick of clubs come next year.

Everyone will benefit. Reo helps the club in our bid to be successful yet again and he can get his dream move, and with still a couple of years of his contract to run, the club will receive a decent fee for his services. Everyone wins. But the ideal situation would be for the club and the player to get together next month and thrash out a new deal that suits both parties perfectly.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy