The 25-year-old Celtic player impressed the international coach, and he’s starting next match.

After the final round of international matches, we can return to what many refer to as “the real football.”

There will be more to say about Celtic players who are fortunate enough to get called up, as there are currently thirteen of them serving their countries.

One of those players, however, is Reo Hatate. The Japanese midfielder has wowed the Celtic support with his recent performance against Kilmarnock and, it seems, he is alos impressing his national manager, Hajime Moriyasu, as well.

Speaking about the upcoming match against Tunisia, it seems that Hatate has played himself into the starting lineup for tomorrow’s friendly.

Moriyasu said [Gekisaka], “We want to prepare for tomorrow’s game with Reo Hatate as the starter.

“He showed us that he can take a wide position on the left side and move his teammates, that he can get between the lines and play, and that he can be involved in both attack and defence, even when he played in the middle of the game.

“He has shown that he can play on a daily basis for Celtic as an inside half, especially on the left, but I think he can make use of his strengths on the left in terms of getting between the lines, getting involved inside and getting the best out of people, as an extension of his routine.”

It’s rather incredible to think that Hatate, who is only 25 years old, could soon receive his fifth cap for his nation. Considering how fantastic he has been since breaking through at Celtic, it is also difficult to imagine that he has only played three seasons of professional football.

He now appears to have established himself in Moriyasu’s team, which is well overdue. Hatate has been repeatedly passed over by the Japan manager, but pressure from the Japanese media and the midfielder’s impressive performance have pushed Moriyasu to give the Celtic player a spot in his team.

Now that he is there, he is now showing just how important he can be for Japan and the Celtic fans will be keeping a close eye on tomorrow’s match to see how their midfielder gets on. Kick-off as at 11:10am.