‘Aiming higher’ – Daizen Maeda identifies exact reason his Celtic form has exploded this season amid transfer talk

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Daizen Maeda has been exceptional for Celtic this season.

The Japanese attacker has dwarfed is own goal scoring stats from every other campaign during his time with the Hoops and Maeda is a player of the year shoo-in.

Nicolas Kuhn might have challenged his teammate for the gong had Kuhn not gone off the boil while some pundits feel Callum McGregor could be up there. Maeda’s numbers don’t lie, though, and his stats put him out ahead of everyone else.

Maeda himself isn’t certain why this season has gone as well as it has but he’s delighted to continue chipping in to help Brendan Rodgers‘ side push towards more trophies before the end of the term.

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Daizen Maeda puts finger on why Celtic form has improved

And when asked about his Celtic form this year, the 27-year-old explained how he feels it has gone.

“I think the results are the result of all the hard work I’ve put in up until now,” he told Tokyo Sports. “Up until now, I’ve been in the mix, but the ball just hasn’t come to me, so now it feels like the ball is coming to me. I haven’t really made any changes.”

Maeda has been subject of transfer speculation in recent times and it’s little wonder considering how well he has played this year.

Chris Sutton was worried about Maeda’s future while others have had similar concerns. But while the player continues to do well for his club, he simply wants to continue that form as opposed to paying any attention to his next steps.

Maeda has been linked with moves away from Celtic

“I have scored a few goals at home so it will be important to keep doing that and focus on results with the national team,” he added while on international duty. “I need to achieve more and more results with my own team and keep aiming higher.”

“That’s where it all starts.”

On his Japan call-ups, Maeda added: “It was great that I was able to secure my place in the team in the shortest time possible thanks to everything I’ve done up until now.

“I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t play in the previous match, but we’re fighting as a team. I hope I can clear up those regrets at the World Cup.”