We all know you aren’t supposed to read too much into pre-season performances.

However, Reo Hatate’s brilliant displays in recent weeks have made it very difficult not to get excited about what the dynamic Japanese midfielder could be capable of this coming season.

Bursting onto the scene with that stunning strike at Tynecastle in January, followed by a double in the 3-0 win over Rangers in February, Hatate played a key role in turning the title tide in Celtic’s favour last season. 

Given he had already played over 2,500 minutes in the J1 League last year before his move from Kawaski Frontale, it was more than understandable that his levels would start to drop towards the end of the season though.

Add in some well-documented issues with settling in following his transfer and it was only natural that the 24-year-old’s performances would tail off in the final weeks of last season.

However with proper rest and a relatively full pre-season - he missed the Banik Ostrava and Blackburn Rovers games due to illness - Hatate looks revitalised and raring to go for the new campaign.

After grabbing a goal in the first pre-season match against Wiener Viktoria, Hatate was simply sensational in last week’s 2-2 draw against Legia Warsaw, scoring the opener and then setting up Daizen Maeda to give Celtic a 2-0l lead at half-time.

He followed that display up with another stand-out performance against Norwich City in Celtic’s final warm-up match before the league kicks off, picking up the man-of-the-match award at Parkhead on Saturday.

Throughout pre-season, Hatate’s energy levels have looked back to where they were when he arrived at the start of the year, while there have been plenty of examples of the fantastic technical qualities we know he possesses.

Celtic Way:

Against Legia, Hatate set the tone for his performance in Poland inside the first minute with the execution of a slick reverse ball which got Liel Abada in behind on the right-hand side of the box.

Celtic Way:

He then capped a blistering start to the game with his goal in the 19th minute, thanks to a brilliant bit of movement and a fantastic piece of technique.

As can be seen in the still from when Callum McGregor receives the ball from Abada, Hatate was quickly on the move, attacking the space behind the Legia backline.

Running beyond the striker, something we haven't seen him do too much of in Celtic career so far, he connected perfectly with McGregor’s precise lofted ball as it came over his right shoulder, volleying past Artur Boruc in the Legia goal before the former Hoops favourite could even move.

Celtic Way:

Arguably even better than his goal that night was his assist for Celtic’s second. Picking up a nice line-breaking ball from Stephen Welsh, Hatate could have opted for the safer ball out to the left to James Forrest but instead demonstrated his excellent vision and technical quality, threading a perfectly weighted ball through to Maeda to sweep home with a first-time finish.

Looking at his numbers from the game in Poland on Wyscout, Hatate completed 92 per cent of all his passes (33 out of 36). His quality of passing in and around the box was impressive too, with four of his five passes to the final third finding a team-mate and six of his seven passes to the penalty area successful too.

He was also secure in possession when facing his own goal with 100 per cent accuracy for all seven of his backwards passes. He put in a shift off the ball too, completing four recoveries, with two coming in the opposition half, in his 45-minute showing.

Celtic Way:

Hatate was again the stand-out on Saturday against Norwich. Another brilliantly energetic performance, sprinkled with moments of real quality, he ran the show for 77 minutes against the EFL Championship side before being replaced by new signing Aaron Mooy.

Early on there were several examples of Hatate looking to make those late runs into the box again, something that has certainly been a feature of his last two pre-season performances and which he did to great effect for his goal against Legia.

Celtic Way:

Here we see an example of this from inside the first 10 minutes. Unfortunately on this occasion Josip Juranovic was unable to find the Japanese midfielder. Had Juranovic’s pass been more accurate Hatate would have picked up possession in a dangerous position inside the Norwich box.

Celtic Way:

He was excellent in possession again on Saturday too. Playing one and two-touch as often as possible, his crisp passes were key in helping maintain Celtic’s tempo during build-up phases such as in the above from early in the second half where he dropped deep to quickly sweep the ball out to Juranovic on the right with his second touch.

Celtic Way:

There was plenty of range and variation in his distribution against Norwich at the weekend again as well, quickly changing the point of Celtic’s attack on several occasions such as when he pinged a raking diagonal ball to Jota on the right early in the second half. 

Celtic Way:

He also almost produced a similar brilliant through ball for Maeda in the first half on Saturday, as he did for his international compatriot against Legia. Starting the swift counter-attack with another sweeping ball out to the left, he attempted to thread the same defence-splitting pass from the edge of the box. Unfortunately, the pass was cut out on this occasion just as it looked like it was making it through to Maeda.

It was, however, another great example of his willingness to attempt the kind of passes that will be required to break down the low blocks Celtic will face in 80 to 90 per cent of their domestic games in the season ahead.

Celtic Way:

He was, it should not be forgotten, impressive defensively. He completed seven recoveries, four of which came in the Norwich half. One of those would directly lead to Celtic’s second goal of the afternoon from David Turnbull.

Hatate was quick to move in on the Norwich player on the edge of the box to force the mistake with his interception picked up by Giorgos Giakoumakis who was then able to set up Turnbull.

Looking at more of his numbers from the game on Saturday, Hatate completed 89 per cent of all his passes (48 of 52). As shown, his passing was key to Celtic progressing the ball, completing 11 of his 14 attempted forward passes. Five of his six passes to the final third were accurate too while both of his two passes to the penalty area found a team-mate.

As mentioned, there isn’t ever too much one should take from pre-season friendlies. They are rarely an accurate indicator of how either a player or a team’s season will pan out (Tony Mowbray's Wembley Cup triumph in 2009 being Exhibit A).

However, Hatate’s showings throughout this summer’s pre-season are still very encouraging, especially in the last week against Legia and Norwich, and he looks more than ready to go in the league opener against Aberdeen.

His recent performances now make it look increasingly like he will be the first pick in the midfield area, alongside Celtic captain Callum McGregor.

Although there will be plenty of minutes to go around, it will be an interesting battle between Matt O’Riley, David Turnbull and new signing Aaron Mooy for that other midfield spot when it comes to the biggest games of the season.

For Hatate, if he does go on to replicate the kind of performance level that he has shown in the last few weeks in competitive action consistently then not only will he be one of the first picks but he will also be integral to another successful season for Celtic under Postecoglou.