If there is one person that will never underestimate Daizen Maeda it is Ange Postecoglou.
Eighteen months ago the two men were working together at Yokohama F Marinos, when the manager left in mid-season the star striker saw the season out but moved to Celtic as soon as the January transfer window opened.
Maeda made an instant impact with a debut goal at home to Hibs on January 17, a few weeks later he played on successive days in different continents when he turned out for Japan in a World Cup qualifier then came off the bench in Celtic 3-0 Glasgow derby victory.
This season there has been some matches where Maeda’s touch around goal looked to have deserted him but next week he’ll be heading off to the World Cup Finals with vital goals for Celtic away to Hearts and Motherwell in his locker.
Any suggestion that Maeda is undervalued is met with a brusque response from Postecoglou as The Scotsman reports:
Manager Ange Postecoglou is not one of those who feels Maeda is fortunate to be heading to Qatar. Questioned on whether he believes Maeda is under appreciated, Postecoglou replied as you might expect him to reply: ‘not by us, mate’. Postecoglou is a huge fan of a player whose non-stop energy is perfect for the type of football the manager wishes to play.
“It depends on what you’re looking at,” he said, when it was put to him that Maeda tends to go ‘under the radar’. “Not internally. He works so hard for the team. He’s surrounded by other attackers who are different to him. He doesn’t get the headlines. But the contribution he makes is immense.
“I left him out for the last couple of games to freshen him up. He was outstanding again. The subs coming on were really important for us. He finished it off. At the weekend it was Kyogo and Liel (Abada). The lads have a good attitude about rotating the team, which is not easy, because they all want to play all the time.”
Before Qatar Maeda has a date with Ross County on Saturday with a home win ensuring that Celtic head into the break with at least a seven point lead at the top of the SPFL Premiership.