Daizen Maeda admits he faces a lot of competition from within Parkhead to keep a place in Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic line-up despite a strong debut, via quotes by the Glasgow Times.
The winter addition from Yokohama F Marinos scored after just four-minutes in the Bhoys squad to help beat Hibernian. He broke the deadlock in Monday’s Premiership clash when Tom Rogic picked the on-loan forward out in acres of space.
Maeda’s strike set the tone for Celtic to hunt for a second, which Josip Juranovic provided with a 25th-minute penalty. The 24-year-old – who the Hoops have a £1.7m option to buy – kept up the intensity Postecoglou would have otherwise lacked without Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Glasgow Times note Furuhashi’s return from a hamstring injury is imminent, which can put Maeda’s Celtic place at risk. And the forward accepts he cannot rest on his laurels to stay in Postecoglou’s plans, having worked together at Marinos.
“I knew the manager but that does not mean I can always be a certain player,” Maeda said. “There is a lot of competition from within the team.
“So, from the training, I have to show my quality. But yes, I know the manager’s style very well and I am sure that later we can play much better.
“I am very happy I scored and that I contributed to the team. I am working hard now for the next game and contributing more.”
Postecoglou set for welcome headache with Furuhashi and Maeda at Celtic
Postecoglou will welcome having a selection headache with Furuhashi and Maeda both to choose from at Celtic. The Australian recognised he needed to add depth behind Furuhashi in January after his sublime start in Scotland, so brought Maeda to Parkhead this month.
Furuhashi has 16 goals and provided five assists in 26 games since joining the Bhoys from Vissel Kobe for £4.5m. Now, he and Maeda will push each other to be the best they can be.
Postecoglou knew what to expect from Maeda at Celtic following their time at Yokohama F Marinos together. The Osaka-native scored 12 goals and offered four assists in 50 outings under the Hoops boss. Nine of his strikes came in 2021, on route to a Golden Boot 23 haul.
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