Celtic transfer target Reo Hatate wants to make the move to Parkhead and will meet with Kawasaki Frontale chiefs this week to discuss his future, Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph reports.

The Lowdown: Hatate rumours

Links to Hatate emerged at the beginning of November, with the Hoops reportedly viewing the 24-year-old as a midfielder.

His contract with Kawasaki Frontale expires at the end of January, with talk recently suggesting that he could be a Hoops player before the club's 2022 winter break training camp.

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Hatate, who can also play as a left-back, has scored 12 goals during his career and recently helped his team to a second consecutive J1 League title, but it now seems as if he wants to join Kyogo Furuhashi in Scotland and will talk to Kawasaki Frontale over the coming days.

The Latest: Joseph’s tweet

Sky Sports reporter Joseph took to Twitter on Tuesday to provide numerous Celtic-related updates.

One of those was on Hatate, to which he said: “Kawasaki Frontale left-back Reo Hatate is due to meet club chiefs this week to express his desire to join Celtic next month. He is out of contract in February but is hoping to engineer a move to Scotland in January, which would require a fee to be agreed by both clubs.”

The Verdict: First through the door?

Celtic have also been linked with moves for Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, but it appears as if Hatate could be the first through the door in the New Year judging by this latest update.

For a winter window move to be possible, though, the Hoops will need to get the chequebook out and pay a fee, but you’d expect that it could be a minimal one due to his contract situation and the player wanting to leave his current employers.

Hopefully, interim CEO Michael Nicholson can strike a deal with the J1 League club, as Hatate could prove to be a shrewd addition in multiple areas under Ange Postecoglou, with Japan Times journalist Dan Orlowitz saying that a deal for under £2.5m-£3m would be 'highway robbery'.

In other news: 'Outstanding' star may miss four games as Celtic issues worsen ahead of Betis clash