O’Neill must drop Celtic star who was ‘so botched’

It’s the end of an era for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers after a string of disappointing results in all competitions led the manager to tender his resignation this week.

The Hoops beat Sturm Graz in the Europa League last week, to their credit, but they have also lost three of their last five matches, including their last two in the Scottish Premiership.

Dane Murray scored an own goal and conceded a penalty in a rare start against league leaders Hearts on Sunday, taking their opponents eight points clear at the top of the table.

The Hoops are in a position they don’t often find themselves in, chasing the team at the top of the table, and Rodgers has decided he is not the man to take the club forward.

Celtic have already confirmed that incredibly experienced manager Martin O’Neill will lead the team in the interim period until a permanent head coach can be revealed.

The former Hoops boss will have some big calls to make for team selection against Falkirk, with Arne Engels one of the players whose future at the club is in doubt due to his performances.

Why Arne Engels’ future at Celtic could be uncertain

The Scottish giants broke their transfer record by signing the Belgium international from Augsburg for a reported £11million in the summer of 2024 to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

For a 21-year-old playing for the first time in Scotland, under pressure from his transfer fee, a return of ten goals and 13 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions, according to Transfermarkt, was an impressive haul.

Unfortunately, Engels has failed to get going in the current Scottish Premiership campaign, as he has only been named in the starting XI in four of his eight appearances.

As you can see in the table above, the Belgian central midfielder failed to provide much quality in possession, while he struggled greatly with the ball in midfield.

His dismal form in the Premiership and lack of starts could put his future on hold ahead of the January transfer window, as he is an £11 million asset who will not increase in value if he performs poorly.

However, there were positive signs against Sturm Graz last week. He scored the winning goal, as seen in the clip above, and finished the match with five key passes and three “big chances” created, according to Sofascore.

This performance was a step in the right direction for Engels and shows that he can still provide quality in the middle of the park for the Hoops, which is why O’Neill should not remove him from the XI.

However, one player who should be immediately dropped by the interim manager is Reo Hatate, whose performance levels have dropped significantly this season.

Why Reo Hatate should be abandoned

Like Engels, the Japan international has been an influential figure in the middle of the Hoops park during the 2024/25 campaign thanks to his attacking contributions.

Hatate scored ten goals and created 14 ‘big chances’ in 37 appearances in the Scottish Premiership last season, showing he was a regular threat as both a goalscorer and goal creator for the Bhoys.

The Japanese star was even linked with a move to Serie A side Udinese thanks to his impressive performances for the club, but he remained at Parkhead until the summer transfer window closed.

Unfortunately, Hatate has one goal and no assists in 13 appearances in all competitions so far this season, and was recently criticized by a former Celtic manager during the win over Sturm Graz.

Speaking during TNT Sports’ coverage of the match, Neil Lennon was unimpressed with the midfielder, saying his play on the ball was “so sloppy” throughout the first half.

As you can see in the table above, Hatate gave away the ball 16 times against the Austrian side, while also losing five of their six duels, before losing 75% of their duels against Hearts on Sunday.

The Japan international has now scored one goal and provided no assists, with just 0.7 key passes per game, in seven Premiership starts this season, in addition to his struggles in duels.

With Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo both waiting in the wings and Lennon criticizing his play on the ball last week, it looks like Hatate is finished in midfield unless his performances improve significantly.

Engels, at least, showed signs of life with his impressive performance against Sturm Graz, creating as many “big chances” (three) as Hatate has managed all season in all competitions (three), according to Sofascore.

While it remains to be seen who the club’s next permanent manager will be, it also remains to be seen whether Hatate still has much of a future at Glasgow, if his performances do not improve.

Unlike Engels, he is currently showing no signs of revival and this could mean a transfer is being considered in January, especially given interest from Udinese this summer, as this could be the best option for all parties involved if Hatate fails to return to his best form.