Celtic face paying Yokohama F Marinos a ‘substantial’ fee to sign Daizen Maeda and reunite the forward with Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead in a January transfer, per the Daily Record.
The Bhoys are exploring further raids on the J1-League to strengthen Postecoglou’s side in the mid-season sales. Celtic have benefitted substantially from their summer swoop on the Japanese market for Kyogo Furuhashi, who left Vissel Kobe for Glasgow in July for £4.5m.
Furuhashi has been a sensation in green-and-white so far this season with 13 goals and five assists in 21 appearances. Chris Sutton even dubbed the 26-year-old ‘the best player in the country’ earlier this month for his sometimes ‘unplayable’ performances.
Celtic now want to repeat their successes with Furuhashi by agreeing terms with Yokohama F Marinos for Maeda’s transfer. But the Nissan Stadium side want in excess of £3m to sell.
Maeda has been in prolific form so far this year with 22 goals and three assists over 35 J1-League appearances. He has also contributed goals from both central and wide-left roles.
Yokohama F Marinos are under no pressure to sell the 24-year-old, either, as his contract runs to January 2024. They also only agreed on terms this February before his prolific run.
Postecoglou knows what Maeda can offer in Celtic transfer from Yokohama F Marinos
Yokohama F Marinos putting a ‘substantial’ price tag on Maeda could throw a spanner into Celtic’s transfer plans. Even though The Times reported they were confident of a deal.
The J1-League side will be loath to lose their top goalscorer, whose efforts have helped to a second-placed season. And will be hoping the two-cap forward leads their attack next year.
Postecoglou can sell Maeda’s transfer to Celtic, however, as he knows what the Yokohama F Marinos star can offer.
The Japanese dynamo rarely left the Australian’s plans during his time in charge at the Nissan Stadium. He made 39 league outings from a possible 42 games under the Bhoys boss, scoring 12 and assisting four goals in one-and-a-half seasons.
Maeda has continued to score with ease since and has shown electrifying pace to surge his way to the goal. A possibly powerful trait to pair with Furuhashi’s mazy runs at Parkhead.
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