Callum McGregor states why he didn’t vote for Celtic duo Nicolas Kuhn or Daizen Maeda as POTY

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The Player of the Year nominations are in, and to nobody’s surprise, it’s a Celtic domination.

For the main Player of the Year award, four men are vying for the coveted individual prize: Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and Dundee’s Simon Murray.

Over the weekend, Celtic thrashed Dundee United and finally confirmed Premiership title number 55 after weeks and weeks of waiting.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	33	26	3	4	97	22	75	81
2	RangersRangers	33	20	6	7	68	35	33	66
3	HibernianHibernian	33	14	11	8	54	41	13	53
4	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	33	14	8	11	41	40	1	50

In what is perfect timing, Kuhn helped himself to a brace, whilst Maeda and McGregor supplied assists, as Brendan Rodgers’ side ran riot at Tannadice.

Those goals were much-needed for Kuhn because, since the turn of the year, things have been far different for the winger compared to what he was producing at the start of the campaign.

When discussing the Player of the Year contenders, McGregor gave his flowers to his teammates, and how things have changed.

• READ MORE: Five things we learned as Celtic thrash Dundee United to secure another Scottish Premiership title

Callum McGregor hails Celtic duo Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn after Player of the Year nominations

Rightly so, McGregor gave both of his teammates – Maeda and Kuhn – their flowers for being ‘unbelievable’ this season, as he told Sky Sports.

The Celtic captain stated how, at one point during the campaign, Kuhn was probably ‘nailed on’ for the Player of the Year award.

But McGregor now thinks has changed and Maeda has taken over by going goal crazy over the course of 2025, with 16 Premiership goals to his name compared to Kuhn’s ten.

“Yeah, unbelievable,” said McGregor about Maeda and Kuhn’s seasons. “Obviously, two attackers as well, which generally take the limelight, because everyone wants to see goals scored. These two guys have been unbelievable. 

“Nic (Kuhn) has an amazing start to the season. He is probably nailed on for Player of the Year award up to a certain point, then Daizen (Maeda) kicks in and takes over the mantra. 

“Brilliant, from our point of view, to have the two attacking guys getting so many goals and so many assists. Like I said, that’s always helps the collective as well.

“These two guys have had amazing seasons and definitely right in the mix for Player of the Year.”

Why McGregor voted for Simon Murray as Player of the Year 

The other man on the list, alongside the Celtic trio, is Dundee’s goalscoring machine, Murray, who is hoping to keep his team away from the drop.

Murray, at the age of 33, is an experienced campaigner and is producing the best season of his career, with 15 league goals to his name.

Whilst McGregor would have loved to have put a vote to the name of one of his teammates, he shared why the man from Dundee got his appreciation instead.

“I voted for Simon Murray actually,” shared McGregor. “As he just walks in. Good timing.

“But, I think he has been outstanding. Obviously, we can’t vote for ourselves, which if that was the case, then I would have voted for one of our guys.

“Simon has been amazing. He has scored so many goals. He has been a big player. When he has played against us, he has given us a real difficult time, so he got my vote.”