Who is Celtic’s Most Naturally Gifted Player

Ahead of last Wednesday’s A Celtic State of Mind podcast, John Hughes posed the question on Twitter, “Who is Celtic’s Most Naturally Gifted Player?”  It was one of two poles John posted that were discussed at length on Wednesday’s show.

To make this even more of thinker, John added that the most naturally gifted player may not necessarily be the best player at the club. Instead, this player is one who could “Rock up anywhere with minimal prep and make you think, wow”

As this started out as a Twitter pole, which only allows for four options, the four-man short list was Sead Haksabanovic; Jota; Reo Hatate; and Kyogo.

On the show Patrick McGilp, Paddy Sinat, and Paul John Dykes who put forward the case for their chosen man.

Patrick McGilp

We’re spoiled for naturally talented footballers and those four are incredible, any of them could win.

I feel like I’m naturally drawn towards the skill of Jota but Haksabanovic would be a close second for that particular attribute.  It’s his skill and trickery on the ball, his crossing is superb, his finishing is not bad at all, neither is his dribbling and his passing is quite good.

In terms of an of an all-around winger and the most naturally gifted, I would have to go with Jota.

Paddy Sinat

It could be anyone of those four but I’ve gone for Hatate.

I think this is his third season as a pro and the skill that guy has got, his passing ability, his vision, his touch, he can certainly a rifle in a few as well.

His versatility is one of the biggest things. I remember hearing about when Hatate first signed for Celtic that he had played as a left back, at centre midfield, attacking midfield, he even played as a striker.

His work rate is phenomenal. When you look at what he did in the Champions League this season, for the length of time he’s been a professional footballer, he showed that he could mix it with the best; especially when we played against Real Madrid.

For me the most naturally gifted player has got to be Hatate.

John Paul Dykes

I’m going to go for Hatate.

I think that when you see people doing all the wee clips and the compilations it highlights all the things you miss when watching the game live.  You miss a lot of what he does at the time, the subtleties.

It’s the close ball control, the body movement, he  goes one way with the shoulders and then he’s gone the other way. He’s unbelievable.

I’m going to go for Hatate.

John Hughes

My immediate response when I saw the question was Haksabanovic, because I love him; it’s pure bias.

But then I thought about it, and was thinking, ‘I’ve just completely contradicted myself there’ because the last time I was on (the podcast) I said if you had to distil Hatate’s best moments onto a YouTube video, people would think they were saying in a £50 million pound player.

His best moments are spectacular and that’s seems to be the general opinion of the people that voted.

Kevin McCluskie

For me, the most naturally talented player out of those four and the one that makes me go ‘wow’ is Jota.

Hatate is a terrific technician and provider of special moments, but is also someone who works hard at his game to improve what he is not naturally talented at.

Jota, on the other hand, is a player that gets you off your seat every time he gets the ball.  His close control and dribbling are fantastic; he has an for a pass, and a natural ability to find a yard of space and punish the opposition.

I’m with Patrick on this one – it’s Jota for me.

Results of the Vote:

Kyogo 5%

Haksabanovic 13%

Jota 33%

Hatate 49%

Let us know if you agree with our selections.

KEVIN MCCLUSKIE