After the hugely successful signing of Kyogo Furuhashi, Celtic are unsurprisingly continuing to sniff around the J1 League.
Ange Postecoglou seems to have identified Daizen Maeda as his next target, and The Times believe Celtic are confident of a deal.
Now, Japanese based journalist Dan Orlowitz has provided an update on the situation.
What’s the story?
Well, Orlowitz believes Celtic have a 40% chance of signing the 24-year-old, who scored 18 goals in 36 games last season.
The journalist told PLZ Soccer: “Kyogo was amazing business. If Kyogo was a 5/10, I’d put Daizen at a 4/10. I think that’s fair. Marinos are not a stupid club. They know they have a talented player and if they can get money for him, they’re going to.”
Now, that is very intriguing. 40% isn’t as high as the Celtic Park faithful would’ve liked, although it is still encouraging nonetheless.
After all, Orlowitz admits he felt there was only a 50% chance of Kyogo moving to Parkhead, so clearly anything is possible.
Would Daizen Maeda be a good signing for Celtic?
In our view, Celtic have to get the 4-cap Japan international – to us, he is effectively Kyogo 2.0.
As aforesaid, Maeda scored 18 goals in the J1 League, a division in which Kyogo could only score 15 goals before joining the Bhoys.
Of course, Kyogo’s tally is still excellent, so the fact Maeda outscored him suggests the 24-year-old will also thrive in Glasgow, if not do even better.
Also, at that age, the left-winger has many years to grow and become an even better player than he already is.
Kyogo has already hit ten goals in 16 appearances for Celtic, proving that it’s possible to enjoy a successful transition from Japanese football to Scottish football.
Maeda looks to be a seriously exciting forward, and if Postecoglou can get his hands on him, Celtic’s attack would look deadly.
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