It has been a pretty productive World Cup for Celtic's representatives, specifically the non-Scottish ones. Alistair Johnston has been a key figure as Canada have reached new heights, Benjamin Nygren has helped Sweden get into the knockouts, while Auston Trusty scored during the United States' clash with Türkiye in LA. The less said about Sebastian Tounekti's Tunisia the better.
However, unsurprisingly, the Celt in North America who has shone brightest has been Daizen Maeda. He started three of Japan's four matches, opening the scoring during a 1-1 draw with Sweden in Dallas. This was his second World Cup goal, having also netted against Croatia in Qatar four years ago. However, Maeda and the Samurai Blue's American adventure is now over, dumped out by Brazil in the round of 32 on Monday, conceding the latest winning goal in World Cup knockout phase history.
So now, Maeda can focus on his club future, and this might not be good news for Celtic fans. After the defeat in Texas, the forward had this to say:
"I personally feel that I need to keep improving and take another step forward. It made me realise that I can't stay at my current level and that I need to become a better player."Daizen Maeda
Well, this should be no surprise, given how close the 28 year old came to a move 12 months ago. Maeda thought he was on the way out last summer, even reportedly emptying his locker at Lennoxtown. However, VfL Wolfsburg had a £20 million bid rejected towards the end of the last summer window, because Adam Idah was in the process of being sold to Swansea for £7 million, and the club did not feel as though they could replace both. Considering Idah's replacement was Kelechi Ịheanachọ, who spent most of the campaign injured, they were right about that.
Well, it was just as well Maeda stayed, because the Hoops certainly would not have ended up with a league and cup double had he been sold. Across the Celts' final seven matches of last season, the Japanese international scored in every single game, netting nine times overall. This included a quick-fire brace against Rangers, featuring a jaw-dropping overhead kick, as well as the crucial late go-ahead goal to beat Hearts in the final day title decider at Parkhead.
It is a credit to Maeda's professionalism that he did not let this last minute U-turn from the club affect his performance level or commitment. Now though, at 28 years old, he is running out of time to make a big move. Reports suggest the club "are braced for bids", and it seems unlikely that they'll be able to keep hold of their talisman for a second time. Finding a replacement will be a major challenge.
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