‘Incredible’: £2.5m man stunned by what two Celtic stars did vs Hibs

Follow us on Google Discover

Josip Juranovic ‘cannot wait’ to see more of winter transfers Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate in Celtic shirts following strong debuts against Hibernian, via quotes by the Glasgow Times.

Ange Postecoglou blooded his January additions into the Bhoys’ line-up at the first time of asking on Monday night. And it only took Maeda four-minutes to open his Hoops account with the 24-year-old breaking the deadlock early on.

Hibs allowed Tom Rogic to find Maeda in acres of space in the box to finish a lightning early start. Hatate also shone all game from central midfield as the 24-year-old dictated the flow of proceedings. He forced goalkeeper Matt Macey into action, as well, and shot just wide.

Hatate’s first-half showing was sensational as he displayed a number of traits Postecoglou would have admired in Japan. Rarely did the Kawasaki Frontale arrival waste possession as he played with great intelligence. He also displayed plenty of energy in a box-to-box role.

Maeda also constantly harried the Hibs backline after starting his Celtic career by scoring in front of the Parkhead crowd. Rarely did Shaun Maloney’s side have any time to wait on the ball, as Postecoglou will have expected by reuniting with his Yokohama F Marinos attacker.

Juranovic ‘cannot wait’ to see more of Maeda and Hatate after strong Celtic bows

Hatate stunned Celtic’s supporters with his sublime debut alongside Maeda and Juranovic against Hibs on Monday. The Japanese duo’s efforts on debut at Parkhead has set a strong marker to maintain. And £2.5m summer signing Juranovic cannot wait to see what’s next.

“It’s incredible,” Juranovic said. “It’s their first match and they played really well – I cannot wait to see them in the future. The lads played really well, the whole team.

“Also, the guys on the bench supporting us. I think that we played really well from the first minute until the last. Congratulations to the new guys that came in. It was their first game in front of our fans and they played really well.”

Celtic’s win over Hibs thanks to Maeda’s goal, Juranovic’s penalty and Hatate’s work in the centre lifted Postecoglou’s side to within three-points of Rangers, who play on Tuesday.