Stiliyan Petrov simply loves watching Reo Hatate. Perhaps it is because he sees shades of himself in the Celtic midfielder.
The Celtic hero is a huge admirer of the Japanese playmaker and reckons he always answers his critics - even if he has faced scrutiny over performances at times.
"I love him," said Petrov as he beamed at the prospect of discussing Hatate. You can ask me anything about him. I love everything about him.
"He reminds me a little bit of me. He puts his head down. Sometimes he has his critics, but he always bounces back.
"He works really hard. Every game is 100%. He's got that intelligence to find the space to score great goals.
"The other day against Kilmarnock, he was brilliant. He scored one of the best goals of the season. You don't see many of these goals now, especially with midfielders.
"Every team tries to be perfect, but he takes the risk. He gets in the right position. He's reliable, which I love about him."
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Petrov is well aware there could be transfer interest in Hatate in the summer, but is hopeful the midfielder sees his future in Glasgow.
"I had seven years at Celtic. Seven very good, successful years," said Petrov. "I felt that it was my time to move on and challenge myself again.
"It's down to the player to see where he is at the moment. Is he going to be an interest to others? Definitely.
"Players like Hatate are always going to court interest.
"You've seen the kind of transfer and players that have come to Celtic over the years.
"When a team performs well then it is natural the best players attract interest. Hatate has shown such quality, and at the moment it's priceless to have a midfielder who has the ability to score goals and who cannot only score goals but create them too and he has that.
"I'm sure Celtic are monitoring the situation and making sure that Hatate will stay. He's been a big part of the club for the last few seasons."
Stiliyan Petrov was promoting Premier Sports’ live and exclusive coverage of St Johnstone v Celtic on Sunday from 2.30 pm on Premier Sports 1. Watch Premier Sports via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV, STV Player and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription, and on the Premier Sports’ streaming platform.”
