Celtic braced for Daizen Maeda bids after talisman reveals he needs 'step forward'

Maeda drove Celtic to the Premiership title and Scottish Cup this season by scoring 12 goals in the club’s final seven matches and is now a talismanic figure for Martin O’Neill’s squad.

The 28-year-old joined Celtic in January 2022 and has netted 79 goals in 212 appearances across all competitions for the Scottish champions. He has also become a mainstay in the Japan squad and started their 2-1 last-32 defeat at World Cup on Monday night.

Maeda scored earlier in the competition against Sweden and now has 29 caps to his name. His performances for Celtic and also on the global stage are set to attract a number of suitors for a player who is entering the final year of his contract.

Maeda was very close to leaving Celtic last summer when German Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg tabled a bid in the region of £20 million for him. However, Celtic were unable to source an adequate replacement and pulled the plug on the transfer.

There was also concrete interest from English Premier League outfit Brentford and the Bees, as well as other clubs in England and Germany, have been monitoring Maeda’s displays for both club and country throughout this season.

As a result, Celtic are understood to be braced for significant interest in Maeda 12 months on from his failed Wolfsburg switch and may not be able to resist bids - especially with Maeda making it clear that he desires a fresh challenge.

Speaking after Japan’s defeat by Brazil in Houston, Maeda revealed: “I personally feel that I need to keep improving and take another step forward. It made me realise that I can't stay at my current level and that I need to become a better player."

Maeda and his Japan teammates were left devastated by Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage-time winner that ended the Blue Samurai’s participation at the World Cup.

"We fought a great game, but the opponent was strong and I think we still have a long way to go,” continued Maeda. "Of course, we had the feeling that we could do it, but Brazil is just so skilled and powerful and we ended up spending a lot of time defending. I think it was just a matter of time before they scored, to be honest.

“What we've done up until now remains unchanged. I want to return to Japan with my head held high. So many fans came to the stadium to back us and I know a lot of people stayed up to watch even in the middle of the night in Japan, so I want to thank them all for their support.

"What we have built together over these past three and a half years since the Qatar World Cup is something I am very proud of. But I apologise for the defeat."