Harry Kewell has spoken highly about Celtic star Daizen Maeda after being unveiled as the new coach of Yokohama F. Marinos.
Celtic signed Daizen Maeda from the J1 League side and it’s also where Ange Postecoglou learnt his craft before working his magic in Scotland.
And now that’s Harry Kewell’s next task after he left Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff to take a gig as the main guy in the hotseat again.
Given that the former forward is in Japan, he was keen to highlight the enjoyment he has had in working with some of those stars at Celtic.
Harry Kewell stated that Daizen Maeda is someone who ‘still wanted to learn’ and ‘better themselves’, which he found ‘phenomenal’, as quoted by Football Scotland.
This won’t be a surprise to the Celtic fans because the 26-year-old, currently at the Asian Cup, is someone who leaves absolutely everything out on that pitch.
Yes, sometimes he lacks that cutting edge in the final third, but his desire and performances in big games are why he is loved by many.
Daizen Maeda at Celtic
“Working with the four or five Japanese players we had at Celtic, the understanding and the willingness for the Japanese players to learn and want to better themselves was phenomenal,” said Kewell.
“Even when I used to sit and do my one-on-ones with Daizen, it was amazing how someone who had a lot of potential still wanted to learn and I found that exciting.”
Celtic bulking up the wide areas
When Maeda returns to club action, he might find that there is extra competition for his place.
With Luis Palma and the returning Liel Abada already firmly in Brendan Rodgers’ first-team plans, he is now adding Nicolas Kuhn to his ranks.
If that deal goes through, then added with Maeda, you would expect those four to be challenging one another for starting minutes, with the fringe players, such as Mikey Johnston and James Forrest, remaining in their roles.
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