“It doesn't matter how much you score or assist, if you don't work hard, it's not good.”
The prospects of Daizzen Maeda emphasizes why he is the embodiment of a Celtic team that is built on ruthless energy and a winning mentality.
The Japan attacker is always impressed by the hoops, but this season he has been the radiant light of the team while winning a fourth consecutive league title – and close to a domestic Treble.
Maeda was a family member for many when he followed Ange Postecoglou to Celtic of Yokohama F. Marinos in January 2022.
He scored 19 goals before Postecoglou left for Tottenham in the summer of 2023, with many who wondered whether he would retain the same influence and intensity in a Brendan Rodgers team.
He did not maintain his level. He raised it.
Maeda scored more than half of that count in the first season of the Noord -Ier at Parkhead – impressive enough, but not compared to his current blister -shaped form, who could see him called that player of the year was called.
He already has 33 goals for the season, 16 of them in the Premiership, making him the top goalscorer of the competition.
How did Maeda Celtic fire the title?
Whatever the role is, it seems to flourish.
Whether it leads the border, on the wings or following the defense, his pace and tactical intelligence must make him every dream of the manager.
Kyogo Furuhashi's January -Exit to Rennes left Adam Idah as the only recognized striker, but Maeda was the man who filled the void left by his fellow countryman.
With a more frequent bet in the middle, its shape has taken a dramatic solution.
He has scored 11 league goals since Kyogo left – more than double what he had done during the first half of the season when he played wide while Kyogo was in the club.
His shooting accuracy is also better, and there have been almost as many assists, plus important goals at critical moments in some of the greatest games.
When he does not score, he puts the level of Celtic's high-intensity game while the crowd finds out the attacker, who is on his way to becoming a modern Hoops icon.
'Everything I want to see'
As a player in the elevator, it is no surprise that Brendan Rodgers wants to extend the deal of Maeda after the summer of 2027.
“I spoke with [majority shareholder] Dermot [Desmond] And the club and spoken with the player. Hopefully that is something that can be done in the future, “said the manager.
“He was absolutely brilliant for us this season. Wherever he played, no matter how he played, he had a great season. So of course you would like to attach one of your best players.
“He is everything I want to see in a central striker. His working speed, his intensity and the movement he makes through his goals.
“His reading of situations is also just so good, and I think he has improved at his technical level of his finish and that also comes with confidence.
“If you see him playing through the center, you have the feeling that he is going to get goals and that he is going to make goals.
“He is very coachable and he is a great student. That is what you want in your players. You can have players who are very good players, but they are not very coachable, but his ability to learn is also what helped him.
“He has trust and being in the middle of the goal means that he makes different runs. We have seen that he can make all the movements and do everything you want in that position.”
Sutton: Maeda has been the most important player of Celtic
Chris Sutton from Sky Sports hopes that Celtic Maeda can protect on a longer deal, given how crucial he is for the team.
“He is inked about Celtic's recent history of brilliant purchases and, for £ 1.6 million, he is an absolute cut,” he said.
“On many occasions he is the best player I think I have ever seen when closing, the eruption of Sprints, his intensity, but where I think he really improved during his time at Celtic, is the quality he brings to the team and brought his game.
“He must be a nightmare to play against, but he has been a huge surprise in terms of the quality he brought to the team.
“The different types of goals he has scored – the headers, the chips, left foot, right foot. A major player for Celtic in Europe and inland, and he will rightly win the player of the year.
“That technical side of his game really came and sometimes his films don't come out completely, but that is part of the game. When he first came, he was so raw and so awkward.
“He came on jumps and boundaries. This season he is undoubtedly the most important player of Celtic, I think because of his adaptability to play at the center when Kyogo left.
“If you had said that Daizzen Maeda is going to score 33 goals in a season, you would have been laughed at from Glasgow.
“Summer is huge for Celtic, who keeps him in particular, because the domestic things are important, but they are directly in the final round of Champions League qualification.
“Keeping him is absolutely crucial. Everyone knows what he is doing and how he plays and how he moves, how he extends the defense – so keeping him is an absolute necessity.”