Daizen Maeda had cleared his belongings from Lennoxtown says Hugh Keevins as Celtic exit details revealed

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Daizen Maeda’s bombshell transfer revelation came as a huge shock to Celtic supporters.

The Hoops star revealed whilst on international duty that he had wished to leave Celtic in the summer, even agreeing personal terms on a move away.

But internally, it was a different story. Brendan Rodgers has now revealed that he was aware of the situation since February, but the club was unable to facilitate the move.

This perhaps makes it easier to understand Maeda’s frustration, especially given that Kyogo Furuhashi was granted a move in January after similarly requesting it months in advance.

And with a move seemingly close at one point, more details about the transfer stand-off have now emerged.

Celtic transfer block was deeply disappointing for Daizen Maeda says Hugh Keevins

Maeda is now in the final two years of his contract, meaning that his transfer value is likely to depreciate from now on.

And with the forward now wondering what could’ve been, Hugh Keevins has revealed what he has heard about just how close an exit was.

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Speaking on Clyde Superscoreboard, he said: “I wouldn’t be surprised [if he started against Kilmarnock], but by the same token, Maeda can say that he’ll knuckle down and everything will be fine…

“But he wasn’t playing well anyway, and the window ended in a fashion that was deeply disappointing for him.

“My understanding is that he had gone from Lennoxtown, cleared out his belongings and was definitely on his way.”

Hoops fans will be hoping that Maeda can remain his hard-working self, and regain his goalscoring form from last season.

Will Daizen Maeda leave Celtic in January?

If the Celtic board are keen to maximise his value, they may have to consider a sale in January.

This was, of course, the case for Kyogo – Giorgos Giakoumakis and Josip Juranovic have both also departed Celtic Park mid-season in recent years.

Hyeongyu Oh and Alistair Johnston were both lined up to replace the pair – given how windows have gone recently, it’s difficult to hedge your bets on the club doing that again.

It will nevertheless be fascinating to see how Celtic handle the Maeda situation, now that it is in the public domain.