Daizen Maeda recently picked up the PFA Scotland Player of the Year and it was deserved to say the very least. The Japanese forward, who has been at Celtic since early 2022, has enjoyed his best campaign with the Hoops and by quite some distance. He has scored 33 goals so far and will be looking to add a few more as the Hoops are still in contention to win a treble.
After that, the summer transfer window will arrive. And at the moment, there are some question marks over Maeda's long-term future at Celtic Park, on the back of his brilliant performances this season.
Clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and many more are believed to be keeping an eye on Maeda before the summer. Naturally, fans are worried that he could be on his way out at the end of this campaign. Hopefully, that does not happen.
It is believed that Celtic want to hand Maeda a contract extension but it looks like the player himself is not interested in discussing that before the end of the season. As reported by the Daily Record, he said:
"Yes, the gaffer spoke to me about it. But there are still some games to be played this season so I just want to focus on them.
"We still have the Scottish Cup final to play for this season so I don’t want to focus too much ahead. I want to focus on that."
Daizen Maeda makes worrying Celtic contract claim
Those sound like the comments of a player who is keeping his options open for the time being. Maeda will surely know that he will have no lack of suitors if he does end up choosing to leave Celtic in the summer.
That being said, he must also know that such a move would be risky, especially a year before the World Cup. Just look at how things have turned out for Kyogo since he made the move to Rennes. He has barely gotten any playing time.
So, it might be best for Maeda to stay at least one more year at Celtic before considering an exit. Otherwise, he might find himself in a similar situation to Kyogo and let slip of a chance to play at the next World Cup for Japan.
At 27 years of age, he has time on his side and should not rush into a Celtic exit. But at the same time, professional athletes do need to have immense belief in themselves and that is not the way that someone like Maeda might be thinking about his next move.