Baffling comparison made between Daizen Maeda and Rangers man as Ibrox hero clutches at straws

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Daizen Maeda has been Celtic’s go-to man this season.

The Japanese attacker has been a revelation in Glasgow with his versatility being lauded by manager Brendan Rodgers as he continues to chop and change him from left-wing to through the middle depending on opposition.

Maeda has broken Celtic records this season and has dwarfed his own statistics from the past number of years he has spent at Celtic Park.

He has come on leaps and bounds this term so far with John Collins among other pundits saying Maeda has “proven him wrong” with his efforts having improved significantly in front of goal.

For Rangers hero and former defender Craig Moore, Maeda has shone at Parkhead and has become a key player for the runaway league leaders.

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Daizen Maeda has been compared to Rangers’ Cyriel Dessers

But the Australian former centre-half managed to somehow compare Celtic’s buzzbomb to an Ibrox player in Cyriel Dessers when it comes to missing chances between the sticks.

“His confidence now is through the roof. He can score goals and he did do it at Yokohama as Brendan Rodgers touched on. When you look at him he is not technically brilliant,” Moore said on GO Radio.

“He’s not individual skill that is going to stand you up, jink, come in and step over. But he is just unbelievably effective.

“That is crucial and key. He is able to repeat efforts, he is durable and puts himself in situations. He had a great chance to score a second goal against Hibs where he should score, sliding in at the back post. That is Maeda.

“But like a little bit [Cyriel] Dessers in terms of the chances that are missed. That is a possibility for Maeda. But he’s going to be there in positions to score more times than not.”

What the opposition has said about Celtic’s Daizen Maeda

Maeda may well miss some of his opportunities as a Celtic player but he comes up with the goods, too.

The 27-year-old has also chipped in with plenty of assists this campaign and is a shoo-in for player of the year.

Fans expected Nicolas Kuhn to be up there for the award at the end of the year but while Kuhn’s form has dipped of late by his own incredible standards at the beginning of the year, Maeda has only maintained the same level of brilliant consistency that has previously eluded him.

Before he scored against Hibs, one opposition player was raving about Maeda’s talents. Which should tell fans and pundits exactly what the Japan international is all about.

Lewis Miller said before Celtic’s 2-0 win over Hibs: “Yeah, that was fantastic, wasn’t it? Half-time, I was blowing (against Maeda).. then they were like, nah, let’s put on Jota! I was like, ‘sweet, that sounds good’.”