Alan Hutton says what people expected to happen when Kyogo left Celtic just hasn’t happened 

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Celtic were pretty busy during the January transfer window.

The standout headline was Kyogo Furuhashi leaving Celtic and moving to France’s top tier by joining then-relegation-threatened Rennes.

During those months, Rennes have got themselves out of trouble, but without the help of Kyogo because he has hardly played.

It has been a nightmare for Kyogo, including not featuring in Habib Beye’s most recent match day squad as they beat Le Havre 5-1.

In the meantime, Celtic put five goals past St Johnstone to book their Scottish Cup final ticket and keep up their hopes of winning the Treble.

The usual suspects were on the scoresheet, including the goal machine Daizen Maeda.

• READ MORE: Kyogo Furuhashi sent a brutal Celtic message by club legend amid Brendan Rodgers’ interview

Daizen Maeda’s impact at Celtic since Kyogo Furuhashi left

Celtic fans, and even the manager, were frustrated at the lack of a replacement for Kyogo, including questions of how his exit will affect the team.

Alan Hutton stated that many were ‘worried’ about the situation, but fast forward to the present, and it hasn’t been the case because of Maeda’s form.

The former right-back gave Maeda his flowers for how he has stepped up to the plate, as he told Premier Sports.

“Genuinely incredible,” said Hutton on Maeda’s form. “I think he has raised the bar himself, in terms of his finishing. He has improved. 

“He always had pace. Wants to run in behind. Always worked hard. But he is now adding the ability to have all different finishes is quite incredible, and the numbers tell you that. 

“The biggest thing you can say is that Kyogo left, and you are thinking, ‘it’s Idah’s time, he is up’, and Maeda has been that guy now.

“There hasn’t actually been a worry that he has actually left. Maybe people were thinking that there possibly could be, but he has stepped in there and look at his numbers. It has been incredible.”

Maeda’s stats since Kyogo left Celtic

Before the turn of the year, someone like Nicolas Kuhn was perhaps the main contender for Player of the Year.

But to claim that much-coveted individual prize, you need to perform over a consistent period, and Maeda has done just that instead.

Over the course of the season, Maeda has 33 goals to his name, including going to the next level ever since Kyogo left.