Time to sort out Celtic’s midfield, Hatate and Nygren together don’t work

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·18 de septiembre de 2025

Time to sort out Celtic’s midfield, Hatate and Nygren together don’t work

With Celtic travelling the short distance to Firhill on Sunday to take on Partick Thistle in the Premier Sports League Cup, it will be interesting to see if Brendan Rodgers decides to mix things up in regards to his starting eleven, with big games coming up against Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) and Hibs.

Partick Thistle v Celtic, Firhill May 2017 as the Celtic support pays tribute to the Lisbon Lions. Photographs by Vagelis Georgariou

OneFootball Videos

The Championship side will be no pushovers but many will expect our manager to give some game time to players who have been rarely seen this season.

Personally the area I’m hoping to see change in is our midfield. It’s an area of the pitch that we have certainly underperformed in this season, which to be honest, with the personnel we have available in that area, doesn’t really make sense.

This summer’s disastrous transfer window was the hot topic over the past few months with everyone giving their tuppence worth regarding where we needed strengthening. We needed a left back. We needed a centre back. We certainly needed strikers and wingers. The one thing not many were calling for was midfielders, and it’s pretty easy to work out why. We have plenty of quality in midfield already.

Callum McGregor of Celtic applauds the fans after the team’s victory in the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

So why have we been so poor in that area recently? Well there’s a few reasons in my opinion. The first one is obvious. The most vital cog our midfield, Callum McGregor, hasn’t hit anywhere near the heights we have come to expect from our captain. A casualty of his own previous sublime standards? Or has father time finally caught up with him?

Perhaps both, but there’s more to it than that. Callum has been probably our most important player over the past few seasons. When he’s on form, orchestrating everything in that ‘Quarterback’ role, we look like a well oiled machine.

Callum McGregor theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Unfortunately the opposition has noticed this and now do everything they can to negate his influence. I first noticed the tactic in a match against theRangers last season. In those Glasgow Derbies he usually ran the show but Philippe Clement obviously sent his midfielders out with the plan to swarm our captain, which ultimately led to us struggling to create chances further up the field. They have continued this tactic over the last few derbies regardless of their manager and it’s definitely worked. Other managers have used that plan to great effect also.

Greg Taylor. Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou

I also think that Greg Taylor departing hasn’t helped the situation. Taylor’s inverted role meant he often drifted inside to help McGregor out in both an attacking and a defensive set up. This season our captain has struggled being in there on his own, especially when the opposition targets him whilst in possession.

This leads to questions about who should be partnering him in the centre? None of our current full backs are suited to playing inverted so if the help isn’t coming from there then it must come from the other midfielders.

Benjamin Nygren theRangers v Celtic, 31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

So far this season Brendan Rodgers has shown his preferred midfield three is Callum, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren. Now from what we have witnessed so far it doesn’t take a footballing genius to conclude that this trio aren’t compatible. For a start I think Hatate and Nygren are too similar.

Both are players who blow hot and cold. What we would have called a luxury player years ago. Someone who could produce moments of magic to win you games but maybe lacked the overall contribution others provided.

Reo Hatate at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The funny thing is Rodgers should know this. I was actually reading something recently where our manager stated he thought this of Hatate when he first arrived and he’s not the usual type of player he would normally be drawn to but the Japanese player had worked hard to change his mind. So if he already feels like Hatate is a luxury player, why is he now starting with two of them in his three man midfield? To me it has to be one or the other.

Arne Engels – theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

So who do I think should drop out and who should be brought in? Well firstly let’s look at our options. We have Arne Engels, our record signing. We have Paulo Bernardo, the former Portugal Under 21 captain. We also have Luke McCowan, one of the best Scottish midfielders playing in the Scottish Premiership.

So we have options, no doubt about that. The only thing is none of these guys are the physical, ball winning type I would like to see paired with McGregor. The type of midfielder we have been missing for a long time. Our inability to bring that profile of player in is for another day but for now I want to focus on what we’ve got.

Luke McCowan of Celtic celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 1-0 lead. Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, Glasgow, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

I’m going to rule out Luke McCowan right away. He’s not the type of player McGregor needs in there to help him out. His best position is further forward, and if Hatate and Nygren don’t buck up their act Rodgers should certainly be looking at giving him his chance in that position. So we are left with Engels and Bernardo.

Engels gets a lot of flack from certain quarters but I still believe there is a good player there. Is he the best option to be partnered with McGregor however? Well I’m not so sure. He’s had plenty of opportunities in the midfield along with his captain and never really stood out as a key component in it. Maybe if he was under strict instructions in terms of sitting a bit deeper or switching in tandem with McGregor instead of drifting further forward.

Paulo Bernardo of Celtic vies with Shane Blaney of Livingston during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The one I would like to see however is Paulo Bernardo. Most of us find it strange that we haven’t seen more of him. I can’t ever really recall him having a bad game for us, although it could quite as easily be said that he’s never looked a standout.

Could he be the player to add that bit of protection to Callum so our captain can work his magic? I think out of all those available he is certainly the one with the attributes to give it a go.

Brendan Rodgers during the Premier League match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Personally I would like to see Brendan Rodgers go with a midfield three of McGregor, Bernardo and McCowan to see what the balance looks like. The synergy when Hatate and Nygren play together is all wrong and to be honest I think both would benefit from being dropped to remind them that their position in the starting eleven is far from guaranteed, especially with their recent performances.

It’s up to our manager to prove he is ‘elite’ and sorting out our midfield, whether through new personnel or tactics, surely must be the top of his to do list.

Conall McGinty

CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES by DAVID POTTER – OUT NOW!

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Out now on Celtic Star Books. Click on image above to order.

Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image to join.