Premier League clubs appear to be keeping a close eye on Celtic these days. Several members of the current squad have been linked with moves down south recently like Josip Juranovic, Matt O’Riley and Liel Abada. On the other hand, we recently saw the club’s youth graduate, Ben Doak, make his debut for Liverpool at just 17 years of age.
Of course, there are other Celtic players who seem to be catching the eye as well with their performances this season and one of them appears to be the Hoops’ Japanese forward, Daizen Maeda.
To be honest, Maeda did not have a good start to the campaign and appeared to be struggling in the early goings. But he has improved tremendously in recent times. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 6 goals and provided 4 assists in 26 appearances and 1316 minutes of football this season.
The latest of those strikes came against the Rangers away at Ibrox in the Glasgow Derby. On the other hand, Maeda had a solid World Cup campaign for Japan as well, as they defeated Spain and Germany in the tournament. And now, it appears that Southampton are interested in the Japanese star.
Premier League club is interested in Celtic forward
As reported by Football Scotland, scouts from Southampton will watch a number of different games and players but Maeda is high on the list. They will travel north to watch him in the Scottish League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.
Of course, there is a long history of Celtic players making the jump to Southampton, as their first step in the Premier League. Two players that come to mind immediately are Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama.
Now, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Maeda. On current form, he is one of Celtic’s best players and fans will be hoping that he stays put at Parkhead.
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