‘Don’t owe Celtic anything’ - Ex- Hibs ace shares take on Maeda saga as he slams Hoops' transfer approach
Daizen Maeda was heavily linked with a move away from Celtic during the summer window
PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year Daizen Maeda remains a Celtic player despite openly expressing a desire to leave the champions this summer.
The Japanese international enjoyed arguably the best season of his career last term after scoring 33 times and contributing 12 assists across all competitions while winning a domestic double. However, after seeing the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn both depart, Maeda decided late in the window that he wished to follow suit but in the end Celtic, who are desperate to retain their league title and go as far as possible in the Europa League after their setback against Kairat decided against the 27-year-old’s departure as they wanted to limit the amount of players that left in one window.
One the one hand, it could be viewed as a masterstroke by Brendan Rodgers, due to the importance of Maeda and the qualities he brings to the team, but on the flip side it presents a real risk keeping an unhappy player in camp particularly based on his early season form of one goal in seven across all competitions which looks a far cry from how he was playing last term.
Stephen McGinn slams inconsistent Celtic transfer approach
Ex-Hibs and St Mirren midfielder Stephen McGinn believes Daizen Maeda’s shock transfer request was simply a representation of how non-Scottish footballers view life in the Premiership. He said, via Clyde Superscoreboard: “I always think it’s a difficult one for the foreigners, because they don’t owe Celtic anything. It’s not like they were brought up like the Scottish boys where it’s life or death.
“With 34 goals last year, he’s thinking at that stage that teams are going to pay good money, the agent has probably said to Celtic, ‘what fee would it take to go?’ There’s probably a team ready to match it. Why is Maeda’s blocked, but Kuhn’s wasn’t? Why is Yang’s blocked, but Kuhn’s wasn’t? There’s no consistency to it.”
Celtic return to action with an away trip to take on Kilmarnock on Sunday. The Hoops are joint top with Hearts after picking up 10 points from four matches. Kilmarnock remain winless in sixth position but are yet to taste defeat after drawing all of their four matches this term. The Hoops last faced Kilmarnock in April and recorded a 5-1 with Maeda getting on the scoresheet during that contest. Overall, the 27-year-old has registered five goals and five assists in 11 appearances against Kille while coming out as the victor in nine of those clashes.