- Japanese winger says he was eager to take next step in his career after receiving tempting offer from elsewhere
- Maeda claims the Scottish champions told him he couldn’t go because they had been unable to strengthen squad
- The 27-year-old had been linked with Brentford but refused to divulge if it was Premier League club who tried to sign him
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Daizen Maeda has revealed that he wanted to leave Celtic this summer, only for a proposed move to be blocked by the Parkhead club.
Last season’s Scottish Premiership Player of the Year says he was eager to take the ‘next step’ in his career after receiving a tempting offer from elsewhere.
Speaking while on international duty with Japan, the 27-year-old explained that he was late in joining up with his country this week due to ‘club circumstances’ after the transfer window closed on Monday night.
‘I received an offer,’ Maeda told Soccer Digest. ‘I had been telling the club that I wanted to take the next step, but Celtic hadn’t been able to strengthen their squad properly, so in the end they told me they couldn’t let me go.’
Maeda, who has scored 63 goals since joining Celtic in January 2022, had been linked with Brentford, but he refused to divulge if it was a Premier League club who tried to sign him.
‘Personally, I had agreed, so I wanted to take on the challenge,’ he said. ‘The national team also delayed my joining, and I really asked Celtic until the last day, but it didn’t happen.’
Daizen Maeda has revealed that he wanted to leave Celtic this summer but was refused move
Japanese star Maeda failed to sparkle in last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Rangers at Ibrox
Maeda, who has another two years on his contract, has accepted that he will be remaining with Celtic at least until January.
‘I’ve decided to stay at Celtic, so I want to do my best as a member of the team,’ added the forward.
The sale of talisman Maeda would have heaped further pressure on the Celtic board at a time when they are already under fire from supporters after failing to adequately replenish Brendan Rodgers’ attack following the departures of Kyogo Furuhashi, Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn this year.
Maeda has yet to show the form which made him the outstanding player in Scottish football last term, failing to sparkle in last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Rangers at Ibrox and missing in the penalty shootout which saw Celtic crash out of the Champions League at the hands of Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan.
