Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis lead emotional Celtic transfer messages after summer deal agreed

Celtic stars from recent years have sent messages to one star after the Premiership champions agreed a summer deal.

Daizen Maeda has unlocked his Premier League dream with a switch to new boys Ipswich Town. The Japanese forward has shone bright for the Hoops since arriving in the Ange Postecoglou era during January 2022, and has since scored 79 goals with 38 assists, playing 212 games. He was a hugely popular player with fans at Parkhead and it appears so with players too.

Plenty stars who have arrived and departed Celtic in Maeda’s time have reacted to the news. Former right-back Josip Juranovic said ‘Brother! See you soon!’ while Giorgos Giakoumakis said ‘good luck brother.’ Julian Araujo posted ‘all the best hermano’ beneath Maeda’s social media post on leaving Celtic and others like Nicolas Kuhn, Joe Hart, Junior Adamu, Adam Idah and Liel Abada all posted messages to the Japanese international. Alistair Johnston, Auston Trusty and Paulo Bernardo are amongst the current crop to say farewell.

What has Daizen Maeda said about leaving Celtic?

Maeda said of leaving Celtic: “To the Celtic family, the last four and a half years at Celtic have been the most special chapter of my career and my life. It has been an incredible honour to wear this badge, to play for this amazing club, and to share so many unforgettable moments with my teammates, the staff, and the best supporters in the world.

“Thank you for standing by me through every high and low. Your incredible support gave me strength every single day, and I will always be grateful. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in Glasgow who welcomed and supported my wife and children.

“Because of your kindness and generosity, my family was able to enjoy an unforgettable time here. Glasgow will always hold a very special place in our hearts and will forever be our second home. My son loves Celtic so much that he already says he wants to wear the Celtic shirt and play at Celtic Park one day. I truly hope that dream comes true, and I hope our family will be back here again someday. Thank you to everyone connected with Celtic for everything. Hail Hail.”

What have Celtic said about Daizen Maeda leaving the club?

Boss Martin O’Neill said of losing the high-pressing star from his Celtic team: “Naturally, I will miss Daizen. He was in his last year of his contract. Before I came here, the club made him a real big offer, in our terms, at least 16 months ago. And the lad refused to do it in the sense that he wanted to play in the Premier League if he could, or the Bundesliga.

“So I will obviously miss him, but I’m delighted for him at the same time, genuinely delighted for him. He deserves the move because he’s been fantastic for the club. We will miss his presence around about the place and Ipswich will be getting somebody that they will grow to really like.”