Martin O’Neill has given a transfer update on both Reo Hatate and Michel-Ange Balikwisha as he gets set to lead Celtic into the treacherous territory of summertime Champions League playoff football, that hasn’t got any easier than the first time that he was in charge of the club over two decades ago…
Celtic Manager Martin O’Neill Celtic Training and press conference, 14 August 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/Shutterstock
The Japanese playmaker is keen to move on from Celtic, with his stated ambition to get a move to a top five league. So far that’s not happened and with Reo out of form and with something of a petted lip, it looks increasingly unlikely to happen this summer.
Yet he could still play a major role at Celtic IF he can re-discover his form and perhaps improve his attitude. And that could get him the move he’s after maybe in the January transfer window or next summer.
Arne Engels is unveiled as a West Ham player. Photo West Ham United
Given the sale of Arne Engels, Paulo Bernardo going out on loan and the club being surprised to discover that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is carrying the baggage of a three match European suspension, Reo could be just the man to draft into the midfield alongside Callum McGregor and Benjamin Nygren for the two playoff matches against Austrian Champions LASK.
Reo Hatate of Celtic challenges for the ball with Yerkin Tapalov of Kairat Almaty during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Martin O’Neill gave an update on Hatate and one or two other matters when speaking to the mainstream media.
“There are a number of tentative enquiries,”the Celtic manager, as reported by Scottish Sun revealed, adding: “Nothing has come up that is beneficial to him or the football club.
“That might change. If it did not change I would be happy. Reo is a fine footballer. He has dropped down the pecking order at this moment.
“But if he could recapture the form he showed two seasons ago he would still be an asset. Any player who feels as if they are being squeezed and they feel they are not going to play, then playing is the most important thing.”
Paulo Bernardo seen during PKO BP Ekstraklasa – Matchday 3 season 26 27 game between teams of Radomiak Radom and Gornik Zabrze Jan Borys / Ball Raw Images Radom Stadion Braci Czachorow Poland. Photo: Jan Borys
Martin continued: “Paulo Bernardo has gone on loan because he did not want to be sitting in the stands for games. And while no one pushed him out the door, he thought we might try to get another couple of players in, so he has gone on loan – certainly until January.”
Michel-Ange Balikwisha of Celtic is seen during the Premier League match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on August 31, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Michel-Ange Balikwisha, looks set to leave Celtic this summer, having failed to make any sort of impact since his £5m move from Royal Antwerp last summer, after a significant period where the club tracked him. What they saw in the player remains a complete mystery to the entire Celtic support.
There has reportedly been loan enquires from AC Monza and Basel for the DR Congo winger but nothing has come of either enquiry so far at least.
16.05.2026 Celtic v Hearts, Scottish Premiership. Marcelo Saracchi, Paulo Bernardo and Michel-Ange Balikwisha celebrate. Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO / News Licensing
O’Neill explained: “There has been interest, but nothing that Balikwisha will be wanting to do at this moment. Again, I am hoping that at some stage or another, if nothing materialises, he would get opportunities.
“But I cannot promise that. I said to him in my first spell that the next manager coming in might want him. And then he was disappointed when the next manager was me!”
After taking care of Dundee United with an emphatic 4-0 win at Tannadice in the Premier Sports Cup, the Celtic boss could turn his full attention towards the Champions League double header, which will be the next two games after Celtic decided to postpone this weekend’s Scottish Premiership fixture at McDiarmid Park to concentrate on the big prize of reaching the Champions League proper.
“I honestly couldn’t think about it until Saturday evening or Sunday morning. It was always there though,”Martin O’Neill admitted. “The reports have come in that LASK are pretty strong. They won the Austrian double last season after coming from behind. They have a couple of decent players and there were easier ties out there. It is a big week with the qualifier on the back of the game on Saturday.
Haissem Hassan, Mika Baur & Camilo Duran of Celtic. Celtic Training and press conference, photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/ Shutterstock
With Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh both settling in very well at Celtic, O’Neill knows that his side has the firepower with players with established goalscoring records at Champions League level in his starting XI. That could be what makes the difference in what is going to be a tough challenge for Celtic.
Martin O’Neill has been round the block in these Champions League playoffs and has experienced both the highs and lows.
“But the play-off is stressful enough. You talk about alleviating the stress but that’s never been the case with me. I have experienced these games the first time around. Ajax was a real high and then there was the real low of Basel.
“I saw Chris Sutton with his chance in the last minute and to me it was in – but it wasn’t. Basel were a very fine side, as they proved in the subsequent years, knocking Manchester United out and so on. They could play and I have the same concerns about LASK. Of course it’s good to have that firepower.
Haissem Hassan makes his Celtic debut. Dundee Utd v Celtic, Premier Sports Cup, Saturday 15 August. Tannadice. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou
“We also have Haissem Hassan coming in and you’d probably want to play him wide right, where he can beat players and go outside.
“It’s about looking at systems we want to play. We’ve been pretty rigid in 4-3-3 but we should be able to change.
Camilo Duran celebrates his goal. Dundee Utd v Celtic, Premier Sports Cup, Saturday 15 August. Tannadice. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou
“Duran is a fine player and I don’t see why he couldn’t play just off the centre forward. Therefore we have to look at different ways of playing. It shouldn’t be that difficult, in terms of shifting players a few yards, but it’s just a case of working on it.”
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