Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic could be about to sign ‘one of the best players in the world’ in Daizen Maeda, fellow Japan international Yuto Nagatomo told Sports Digest Web.
It might be tempting to scoff at such a claim and accuse Nagatomo of some bias towards his 24-year-old compatriot.
But it’s worth remembering that few predicted that Kyogo Furuhashi would take Scottish football by storm when he joined Celtic from Postecoglou’s old employers Yokohama F Marinos during the summer transfer window.
Four months, 18 games and 13 goals later, there’s an argument to be made that Celtic’s diminutive, dazzling number eight is now the finest footballer in the whole of the Premiership.
According to The Times, another Marinos star will be holding aloft a green-and-white scarf come January. Maeda is expected to reunite with Postecoglou and Furuhashi at Parkhead, reports suggesting that the deal is all-but done already.
Will Daizen Maeda emulate Kyogo Furuhashi at Celtic?
“I think he is one of the few players in the world with such strong weapons,” said Nagatomo, a former Inter Milan, Marseille and Galatasaray ace with 130 internationals caps decorating a glittering CV.
“Not only is he fast but the timing of his runs in behind is good – and there is consistency. He is troublesome as an opponent.
“I think he is one of the best in the world.”
Osaka-born Maeda has scored more goals this season than Furuhashi managed in his final campaign in the J-League.
A hat-trick during Yokohama’s 8-0 dismantling of FC Tokyo before the November international break took Maeda’s tally to 21 in just 33 matches.
No wonder Kevin Muscat, Postecoglou’s Marinos successor, is already dreading the January window.
It remains to be seen how Maeda fits into this Celtic side. He is arguably at his most effective on the left wing – a position that Benfica loanee Filipe Jota has made his own in recent weeks – while Furuhashi, Albian Ajeti and Giorgios Giakoumakis are all fighting for minutes in a more central role.
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