Celtic's prized guy shuns speculation on future and explains why he'll be happy when season ends

The Japanese international spent the first week of May back in his homeland anticipating the birth of his third child, only to dash back to Glasgow for the 1-1 draw with Rangers at Ibrox when his wife went overdue.

His son, Raikou, has since been born and now Maeda, who has completed an awards double by being named the Scottish Football Writers Player of the Year, is desperate to get back home to meet the new arrival.

"Yes, I have a baby boy," Maeda confirmed. "I’ve seen him on video calls. I haven't seen him face-to-face yet so I just want to go into the off-season and see him."

Asked whether he found it difficult returning for the Old Firm game, Meada replied: "Well, that's only an excuse for me. It's always the case when I go back from international duty. I will have to focus on performance and do my best."

Maeda lands award

His football writers recognition followed on from Maeda scooping the PFA Scotland Player of the Year prize last week. He becomes the third Japanese winner after Kyogo Furuhashi and Shunsuke Nakamura. "I'm very happy to receive the award," he stated. "I think my teammates come first and it’s because of them I have received this award. After that it’s managers, coaches, staff, and also of course my parents. I'm really pleased to receive this award for them."

In truth, it was the only logical choice to be made. The 27-year-old has been the clear standout performer across the 2024-25 campaign with his 33 goals and 12 assists playing a major role in his club remaining on course for a treble while his move into a central striking role mitigated the sale of Kyogo to Rennes in January.

"Yeah, it was beyond expectations," Maeda said. "But I've experienced several times in my career where things I've been doing will pay off in the end and that's what I was hoping for, and thankfully it happened this season. Definitely, it's been the best season of my career."

The main concern for Celtic fans will be holding onto their star man this summer. Manager Brendan Rodgers has stated his desire to hold talks over a contract extension for the player. Maeda, however, remained coy when asked about his future.

"This is a world where you never know what’s going to happen next," he said. "This is a good team but I need to think about what comes next with my family and the gaffers and everything. Now my focus is on this team.

Maeda’s Celtic future

"I’m not thinking a lot right now because there’s still a game to play. I’m thinking about how I will spend my day off so we’ll just get the games done then let’s see what happens."

Should Maeda remain at Parkhead beyond the summer, then the aim will be to further improve upon the current season. That might seem difficult, given Celtic reached the Champions League knockout stages and will complete a domestic treble if they defeat Aberdeen in next weekend's Scottish Cup final. But Maeda insists there is room for improvement.

"Everyone said we did a great performance in the Champions League but we didn’t go through to the next stage," he said. "I think there’s something missing in our team. So for the next seasons I think we should try to go to the next stage."