He'd be amazing with Hatate: Celtic now eyeing "Premier League-level" star
Celtic are looking to strengthen their squad before the end of the summer transfer window at the start of September, despite winning two trophies in the 2024/25 campaign.
Brendan Rodgers led his team to the Scottish Premiership title and the League Cup trophy in his second season back at Parkhead, although his side did also lose in the final of the SFA Cup.
As shown in the post above from Fabrizio Romano, Celtic are set to complete the signing of Benjamin Nygren to bolster their options on the right flank.
The Hoops have already signed Ross Doohan to fill the role of third-choice goalkeeper and have snapped up Kieran Tierney to be their new first-choice left-back.
Celtic eyeing move for new midfielder
Having made moves in the goalkeeper, full-back, and winger departments, the Scottish Premiership champions are now eyeing up a new midfielder to improve their squad.
According to 67HailHail, Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Scotland international Andy Irving from Premier League side West Ham United before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Hoops ‘could make a move’ for the left-footed star in the coming weeks, as Rodgers looks to add to his options in the middle of the park.
It states that there are also teams from the Championship in England that are looking at him as a potential signing, but that the Bhoys are currently at the front of the queue to secure his signature.
Why Celtic should sign Andy Irving
The Scottish giants should swoop to sign Irving from the Hammers this summer because he could be an amazing midfield partner for Reo Hatate when called upon.
Whilst captain Callum McGregor is likely to start when fit, given that he started 34 league games this season, Rodgers will be thinking about what life could look like after the 32-year-old’s powers start to wane.
Arne Engels was trialled as a number six at times in his debut campaign in Scotland, and playing the Belgian star there would allow the manager to play Irving and Hatate as the two number eights ahead of him.
Celtic’s Japanese maestro has proven himself to be adept at breaking down opposition defences to chip in with goals and assists, having scored ten goals and provided four assists in 37 league games for the club in the 2024/25 campaign.
Andy Irving (Austrian Bundesliga) |
22/23 |
23/24 |
---|---|---|
Appearances |
31 |
28 |
Goals |
5 |
9 |
Big chances missed |
0 |
1 |
Big chances created |
10 |
7 |
Key passes per game |
1.4 |
1.2 |
Assists |
6 |
4 |
As you can see in the table above, Irving caught the eye at the top end of the pitch whilst playing as a midfielder for Klagenfurt in Austria, in the same division that Nicolas Kuhn was signed from when he was at Rapid Vienna.
The 25-year-old star, who was dubbed a “Premier League-level” talent by former scout Mick Brown, only made ten league appearances for the Hammers this term, which meant that he did not have much of a chance to showcase his attacking qualities for Graham Potter’s side.
However, a move to a dominant Celtic team, that have won the title in each of the last four seasons, could help him to regain his best form as a central midfielder who can provide quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
That could, therefore, result in Rodgers having two amazing attack-minded number eights in the form of Hatate and Irving, who could cause havoc in the final third, with either Engels or McGregor sat behind them as the number six.

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Celtic have hit gold with star who’s now worth £8m more than Balikwisha
Celtic have hit the jackpot with this star who is now worth £8m more than reported target Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
This is why this move could make a lot of sense for Celtic if they decide to go through with a move for him, as this latest report suggests that they may do.
https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/reo-hatate-celtic-premiership.jpg
