Football can be a simple game sometimes. Martin O’Neill brought back a relatively simple 4-3-3 system, with players in positions that suit them, and Celtic beat Dundee United 4-0 on Saturday.
Perhaps what Wilfried Nancy was working towards, with his 3-4-2-1 system, would have brought about success in the long-term, but you have to get immediate results as the Celtic manager, and O’Neill knows that.
Goals from Hyun-jun Yang, playing as a winger rather than as a wing-back, Arne Engels, Benjamin Nygren, and Daizen Maeda secured all three points for the Hoops in the Scottish Premiership clash, in what was a simple and routine win for the home side.
However, the routine nature of this victory for the reigning champions should not detract from their need to bolster their squad with more signings before the end of the month.
Celtic competing to sign £9m-rated star
According to Football Insider, Celtic are one of the clubs competing to secure the signing of Hacken central midfielder Silas Andersen in the January transfer window.
The report claims that the Hoops and Rangers are set to battle it out to land the Denmark U21 international, who is reportedly valued at around £9m (£8.6m) by his club.
It adds that O’Neill wants to sign a central defender and a centre-forward before the end of the month, whilst the club are also targeting Andersen as a possible addition in midfield.
Football Insider claims that Hacken are “in no real hurry to lose” him in the January transfer window, which suggests that Celtic or Rangers will have to get near the previously reported £8.6m valuation to tempt them into cashing in on the midfield star.
One of Celtic’s players just proved to O’Neill and the club that they need to splash the cash on Andersen this month, with a poor performance against Dundee United.
The Celtic flop who should be replaced by Andersen
The experienced Hoops boss brought a midfield three back with the 4-3-3 formation and played Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, and Arne Engels in the middle of the park.
Whilst Engels scored and McGregor was a metronome in midfield, Hatate struggled against Dundee United and proved exactly why the club need to sign Andersen before the end of the January transfer window.
The Japan international, who was given a 5/10 player rating by 67HailHail, played the opening 61 minutes of the match before being replaced by Benjamin Nygren, who scored shortly after.
|
Vs Dundee United |
Reo Hatate |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
61 |
|
Touches |
60 |
|
Shots on target |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Ground duels won |
0/3 |
|
Aerial duels won |
0/0 |
|
Tackles + interceptions |
0 |
As you can see in the table above, Hatate offered little to the side in his hour on the park for the Scottish giants, with no real quality offensively or defensively in his performance.
The 28-year-old flop has only produced one goal and two assists in 18 Premiership appearances this season, per Sofascore, which has shone a brighter light on his struggles off the ball, losing 55% of his ground duels and 61% of his aerial duels.
Andersen’s form in the Allsvenskan in the 2025 campaign, meanwhile, suggests that he can offer more to the team in the middle of the park if the Hoops decide to bring him to Parkhead this month.
Per Sofascore, the 21-year-old star won 60% of his ground duels and 56% of his aerial duels, averaging 4.9 tackles and interceptions per match, in the league last year, whilst Hatate is currently averaging 1.1 tackles and interceptions per match in the Premiership.
|
Stats |
Andersen (2025 Allsvenskan) |
Hatate (25/26 SPL) |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
26 |
18 |
|
Goals |
2 |
1 |
|
Assists |
2 |
2 |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
1.0 |
0.4 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
4.9 |
1.1 |
|
Clearances per game |
3.3 |
0.6 |
|
Duels won per game |
7.4 |
2.3 |
Andersen, as shown in the table above, has the potential to be a far more well-rounded and impactful midfield star for O’Neill than Hatate has been for Celtic so far this season in the Premiership.
The Danish maestro has the attacking quality to make a similar impact at the top end of the pitch, but his defensive numbers across the board are significantly more impressive than the Japan international’s.
Therefore, Celtic could improve their team and finally drop Hatate as a regular starter by splashing the cash on Andersen, whose services appear to be needed after the Japanese flop’s underwhelming performance against Dundee United on Saturday.
O’Neill ready to make a better signing than Kyogo with £6.5m Celtic deal
Celtic are reportedly interested in signing a centre-forward who would be an even better addition than Kyogo Furuhashi.
