Four EPL clubs named in Daizen Maeda chase

Brentford, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Everton are reported to be interested in signing Daizen Maeda from Celtic.

The report comes from the J. Football Now X/Twitter account which has almost 10,000 followers.

With a year left on his Celtic contract it seems inevitable that Maeda will be on the move this summer. Especially after scoring  at the World Cup Finals to follow up his goal at the 2002 Finals in Qatar.

Last summer it seems that a late move to Wolfsburg fell through.

With that in mind Maeda and his agent are likely to be looking to finalise an early move. Especially on the back of his World Cup exposure.

Brentford are leading the race to sign Celtic forward Daizen Maeda, per @Chosun.

Everton, Fulham and Nottingham Forest are also interested, with Celtic seeking a fee between £15M and £20M. pic.twitter.com/ki7eYqtGuS

— J. Football Now (@j_football_now) July 5, 2026

With five SPFL title wins and three Champions League campaigns on his CV there is little left for Maeda to achieve at Celtic.

After a barren spell through the winter he came alive in the last two months of the season.

MAEDA- CELTIC’S SERIAL WINNER

Nine goals in seven matches don’t quite tell the tale of his 25/26 season.

In the final week he scored twice in the Glasgow Derby with Celtic level at 1-1. His overhead kick is one that won’t be quickly forgotten.

At Motherwell in the following match he equalised after Motherwell had dominated and gone in front in the first half. In the final match he scored in the 86th minute to edge Celtic above Hearts.

Celtic’s recruitment team should be well briefed about replacing Maeda. And Kyogo Furuhashi who was sold in January 2025.

In January Celtic signed Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu were signed. Neither striker featured in any of the post-split fixtures.

Celtic are only two days away from their first match of the season. As it stands the striking options are Callum Osmand, Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny.

It remains to be seen whether Maeda returns to Celtic following his World Cup break.

After last summer’s let down an early deal would be in everyone’s interests. Finding a replacement for Maeda will be a huge test for Celtic’s ambitions.