Daizen Maeda relishing Ange Postecoglou reunion as new Celtic striker makes Kyogo Furuhashi admission

Daizen Maeda admits he is relishing the opportunity to work under Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou once again after he was unveiled for the first time since arriving in Glasgow.

The 24-year-old striker has joined the Hoops on an €2million initial loan deal until the end of the season with a compulsory purchase clause included as part of the deal.

Maeda, who finished joint top-scorer with 23 goals in the J-League last season, is one of three new Japanese arrivals at Parkhead, alongside Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate.

Maeda enjoyed a short spell under Postecoglou’s guidance a Yokohama F. Marinos and is looking forward to being reunited with the Australian head coach.

Speaking in a video interview on Celtic TV, he said: “I know the manager from working with him at Yokohama. He’s always playing attacking football, so I’m looking forward to playing that again.

“My biggest strength is my speed, I like to use that to attack opponents and try to get as many goals as possible.

“All the Japanese players want to be successful at Celtic - we will work hard to try and win the title this season.”

Maeda revealed he had spoken to compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi, who quickly established himself as a fan favourite since arriving in the summer, about the club.

He reckons the impressive form of Kyogo will ensure Celtic gain an even greater following in his homeland.

He stated: “Because of how well Kyogo Furuhashi is doing here and also in the past with Shunsuke Nakamura, there is always a lot of interest in the club in Japan and there will be more supporters now.

“Kyogo has been playing really well and I think I have to do even better to be successful, so I will try my best.

“When I met him with the international team, I asked him about Celtic and he was telling me lots of good things about the club, so I’m really looking forward to it.”