Ange Postecoglou has warned Celtic they would be losing a 'freakish' talent if they allow one of their key players to leave this summer. Daizen Maeda has been linked with a move away from the club after around four years in the green and white, reportedly wanting a new challenge.
Along with Arne Engels, Maeda is another of the more pricey players Celtic could find themselves selling this summer, but the situation is not likely to be resolved until after this World Cup.
Postecoglou on Madea
Before Maeda and Japan's opening World Cup game against the Netherlands, former Celtic boss Postecoglou showered his former player Maeda with praise, while on pundit duty.
"Maeda's goalscoring towards the end (was brilliant),! he said. "Martin (O'Neill) put his arm around him I think and got the best out of him, because he was going through a tough time and at the end of it, he was unbelievable.
"He scored an unbelievable overhead kick against Rangers, that's the freakish ability he has, from a physical perspective, to score goals like that.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing him play tonight. He will not be daunted at all. He's got that sort of nature about him, he doesn't care who he's playing against. He knows the physical capacity he has, he'll match himself against anybody."
Maeda scored 17 and provided 10 assists during the season just gone, clearly standing out as one of the club's most productive players. O'Neill said after one performance in late April: “I thought Daizen Maeda’s performance was magnificent individually. He got us a goal out of nothing, which he did last week as well.
“The goal he scored to make it 3-1 was brilliantly-taken, but his whole performance – he was given Man of the Match but it was like the Man of three matches!"
Awkwardly for Celtic, Maeda only has one year remaining on his contract, so it's a case of agreeing a new deal or selling, and the former does not look likely given Maeda's apparent wish to move on.
It's likely the Bhoys will need to cach in to maximise their profit and avoid the possibility of losing Maeda for free next summer, which would be a disaster result given his obvious talent and value. But even with a big profit, Celtic would be suffering a big squad blow, and finding a replacement will be no easy task.
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