Tony Watt is right to say that Celtic can’t replace Daizen Maeda, but they have to think about how they can move on from him.
Maeda is one of the most unique players Celtic have ever had. Blessed with freakish sprinting capacity, he can haunt defenders at every level of football.
But when you lose such a specialised player, how do replace him? The chances of another Daizen being somewhere out there are slim, so the energy and quality needs to be spread throughout the attack.
And Watt is right to point this out as a concern, because that will require a major overhaul in the transfer window.
Daizen Maeda: irreplacable?
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Tony Watt: Celtic can stop relying on Daizen Maeda by improving
Maeda said on Clyde Superscoreboard: “Look, I don’t want to be negative about Celtic. I don’t want to be speaking badly.
“The squad, at the moment, isn’t good enough. They did get out of jail, they haven’t learned from their mistakes.
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“But what [the caller] said, that Celtic will just have the same season as last season… I totally disagree, because Maeda wants to go.
“And in the last seven games, Maeda carried Celtic. He was unbelievable. He was the difference. I’d agree [with Martin O’Neill that he was Larsson-esque].
“In terms of what he done, how he performed in the cup and in the league, it was unbelievable.
“For me, if he goes, Celtic are going to need to replace two positions. Because he helped the striker with the press, and he helped the winger if he played through the middle.
“He grabbed goals, and he just performed. He’s not the most natural footballer, he’s not the most fluent. But what he does is unbelievable.
“I don’t think Celtic can replace him, but they’re at a moment where they can improve every other aspect of the team and not rely on Maeda.
“And I don’t know if they know that yet. We’ll find out in two or three weeks when they do their signings, but if Celtic lose Maeda, they need to improve about four or five positions.”
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Daizen Maeda’s final run at Celtic
Maeda has established his status as a modern Celtic legend with his extraordinary form for the run-in, scoring in each of the Hoops’ last seven games of the season.
Among these goals were a sensational overhead kick against Rangers that will go down in history, as well as the goal that tipped the title decider against Hearts in the Hoops’ favour.
Maeda came close to leaving Celtic last summer, reportedly even clearing his belongings from Lennoxtown ahead of a proposed move to Wolfsburg.
His Celtic record now reads: 212 appearances, and 80 goals. He has won ten trophies and scored in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
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