Celtic may be hoping that they will be able to keep hold of some of their top performers at the end of the season, rather than having to cash in on their best players.
Jota and Carl Starfelt were both sold, to Al Ittihad and Celta Vigo respectively, ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, whilst manager Ange Postecoglou was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur.
Speculation is already circulating on the future of current Hoops star Matt O’Riley, as Leeds United – who are competing for promotion to the Premier League – are reportedly weighing up a summer swoop for the Denmark international.
Celtic have struck gold with many players in the past, signing them for modest fees before going on to rake in a massive profit, including current Liverpool and Netherlands colossus Virgil van Dijk.
If just adjust for the inflation of transfer fees in football, the Hoops once sold a defensive midfielder who was worth, relative to the time, more than current star Reo Hatate is worth in the form of Victor Wanyama.
Reo Hatate’s market value
According to former Scotland international Barry Ferguson, back in September 2023, the Japan international would easily play in the Premier League and that potential suitors would need to splash out £15m to secure his services.
The ex-Rangers academy graduate based that valuation on Hatate’s ability as both an athlete and a technician, as he went on to say that the Celtic dynamo is a ‘modern-day’ midfielder who has been a “brilliant” find for the Hoops.
Meanwhile, Transfermarkt currently his value at an estimated €10m (£8.5m). It was at €11m (£9.4m) in December 2023 but his recent absence through injury has caused a decline.
Hatate has missed a staggering 37 matches through injury for club and country this season, with calf and hamstring issues, but his form when he has been on the pitch for the Scottish giants over the last 18 months has been superb.
| 22/23 Premiership | Reo Hatate |
| Appearances | 32 |
| Sofascore rating | 7.32 |
| Goals | 6 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Big chances created | 10 |
As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old magician offered quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the middle of the park in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Hatate, who held his own in physical duels with a 57% success rate in battles, scored more goals than any other central midfielder within the squad, whilst only Aaron Mooy (ten) and O’Riley (12) provided more assists from those positions.
This season, the Japan international has plundered two goals and two assists in just four league starts, with eight appearances in the division in total, as injuries have disrupted his campaign.
Celtic and Brendan Rodgers should now be hoping that Hatate returns to full fitness sooner rather than later, as his statistics prove that he can be a huge threat at the top end of the pitch for the Hoops when fit and available to start.
The Scottish giants did, however, once sell a more valuable asset in his position when they cashed in on Wanyama, who they hit the jackpot with.
How much Celtic paid for Victor Wanyama
Celtic swooped to sign the Kenya international from Belgian outfit Beerschot AC for a reported fee of £900k ahead of the 2011/12 campaign.
He hit the ground running at the base of Neil Lennon’s midfield with 42 appearances in all competitions during his debut season in Scottish football, which shows that the 20-year-old starlet did not need much time to adapt to life in Glasgow.
Wanyama, who also played seven matches as a centre-back that term, chipped in with four goals and five assists for the Hoops, as they won the Premiership title.
The young enforcer followed that up with a return of nine goals and four assists in 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2012/13 campaign.
He racked up six goals and three assists in 32 matches in the Premiership, despite playing as either a defensive midfielder or a centre-back, to help the team to another league title success.
Wanyama won two Premiership titles and a Scottish Cup trophy in two years at Celtic, before Premier League side Southampton came calling in the summer of 2013.
How much Southampton paid for Victor Wanyama in 2024 money
Per Totally Money, the Saints splashed out a fee of £13m to sign the Kenyan colossus from the Scottish giants ahead of the 2013/14 campaign.
If you adjust for the inflation of transfer fees in football over the subsequent years, per Totally Money’s index, that deal would be worth a staggering £23.9m in the current day, which is significantly more than the £15m that Ferguson believes Hatate is currently worth.
This shows that Celtic hit the jackpot when they signed Wanyama for £900k in 2011, as they went on to make a huge profit on the midfielder, who would be worth even more than one of their current midfield stars.
The defensive midfielder, who now plays for CF Montreal in the MLS, went on to play 97 times for Southampton across three seasons on the south coast in England, and averaged between 2.8 and 3.1 tackles per game in his three Premier League campaigns with the club.
His form for the Saints over those three years convinced Tottenham Hotspur to swoop in for him in the summer of 2016. Per Totally Money, Spurs paid £12.9m to secure his services, which would be worth £17.7m in the present day.
This suggests that Celtic extracted maximum value out of their sale of Wanyama, as Southampton ultimately sold him for less than they paid to sign the towering ace.
| Premier League career (Tottenham) | |||
| Victor Wanyama | Appearances | Tackles per game | Interceptions per game |
| 2016/17 | 36 | 2.5 | 1.1 |
| 2017/18 | 18 | 1.7 | 0.6 |
| 2018/19 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| 2019/20 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Stats via WhoScored | |||
As you can see in the table above, the former Celtic star’s initially impressive defensive work declined, alongside his appearances, over the course of his career in London.
The Kenya international scored seven goals across 97 appearances for Tottenham in those four years, before his free transfer to Montreal, where he still plays, in the summer of 2020.
Overall, Celtic should look back on Wanyama as a big success as they hit the jackpot with the colossal midfielder, who they made a huge profit on.
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