Image source, SNS/Getty Images
Image caption, Johnny Kenny and Reo Hatate (right) have exited Celtic as Oliver Sorensen (centre) arrived
- Published1 September 2026
Updated 5 hours ago
Celtic have sold Japan midfielder Reo Hatate to Burnley and striker Johnny Kenny to Preston North End as they completed the signing of Parma midfielder Oliver Sorensen on a season-long loan.
The 28-year-old Hatate has signed a three-year contract, while the 23-year-old Kenny has penned a four-year deal with Championship rivals Preston after ending last season on loan to Bolton Wanderers.
Sorensen, meanwhile, will spend the season in Glasgow, with Celtic having an option to buy the 24-year-old who signed for the Italian side in August 2025 after five years with Midtjylland in Denmark.
Celtic have now signed five first-team players during this transfer window and have also been linked with Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and PSV Eindhoven midfielder Joel van den Berg.
Talking before the latest activity on English football’s transfer deadline night, Celtic assistant manager Shaun Maloney said he hoped another left-back can be recruited to compete with Scotland international Kieran Tierney among four possible additions.
Sorensen will help fill the void created by Arne Engels’ sale to West Ham United – and now Hatate’s exit from the same position.
“There’s some key positions that we still need a bit of work on in the next couple of days,” Maloney said before Wednesday’s Scottish Premiership visit by Aberdeen.
“There’s certain things that Arne brought that we need to replace and the quicker we do that, it gives us just that extra dimension, extra speed, extra power within that midfield because I think technically we’ve got some brilliant players. I think we just need that slightly different profile, which we need in certain games.
“Kieran’s started the season really well. You never quite sure how this season’s going to go with all the World Cup guys because of such a short break. We need that back-up in that position. We need somebody to keep challenging KT.
“That’s a position that we’ve really needed to fill and with the right type. We need the right profile of player in there.”
-
Celtic targets arrive as transfer window closure nears – gossip
- Published22 hours ago
-
Who has your Premiership club brought in & let go this summer?
- Published6 hours ago
On the prospect of losing Hatate, who has scored 33 goals in 191 Celtic appearances since joining in January 2022 from Kawasaki Frontale, Maloney commented: “He’s a brilliant player.
“What he’s done at the club has been really, really good. He’s won many titles here.”
Maloney was asked about the possibility of Celtic signing 18-year-old Chelsea forward Shim Mheuka on loan and said “it’s pretty difficult to talk about” prospective signings and “nothing’s confirmed with anyone”.
“Any signing in that striker area, it’ll either transpire in the next 24, 48 hours, or we’ll just go as we are,” Maloney explained.
The Scottish transfer deadline is on Thursday at 17:00 BST, with the Europa League squad to be registered by Wednesday at 23:59.
“All the guys that we’d be looking to try and bring in, with that European deadline we want to try and get them in the squad if we can,” Maloney explained.
“We’ll be looking to strengthen that squad, particularly European squad for that deadline.
“Some really key positions in the squad, you’re looking at three or four and, if there’s anymore than that, that’ll be really, the thinking of the club will be for the future.”
-
Visit our Celtic page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views
-
Get Celtic news notifications in the BBC Sport app
- Published18 June 2023
