Neil Lennon has watched Celtic’s stars grow from strength to strength this season.
The Hoops have a significant lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership after they battered Aberdeen 5-1 at Celtic Park last night.
It was a dominant performance where Arne Engels shone and continued his rise within the squad ranks to prove himself a vital member of the team.
But there was another brace for Celtic’s main man this campaign in Daizen Maeda and Lennon reserved special praise for the Japanese hitman.
Maeda has dwarfed his own stats from last term and become one of the key players alongside the likes of Engels, Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn.
And his numbers continue to grow in a duel role as a left-winger and lone striker through the middle where he has excelled.
Lennon says Daizen Maeda has become ‘enormous’ for Celtic
Lennon reckons Maeda’s impact has been “enormous” this year for Celtic.
The Irishman is convinced the 27-year-old has taken his game to a new level and he has developed a knack for being in the right place at the right time to score goals.
And speaking on Sky Sports punditry duties last night at full-time, Lennon spoke on his second goal of the night and described his value.
“It was brilliant from Yang and Johnston, the crispness of this pass from Yang takes the defender out of the equation, and Johnston – who’s having a brilliant season himself – what a ball that is,” Lennon said on the build-up to the fifth strike.
“I still think (Richard) Jensen should do better but Maeda’s Johnny-on-the-spot just in case he misses it and it’s not coincidence, not luck, he’s on 24 goals now.
“Maeda’s emergence and importance to this squad over the last six to eight months has been enormous.
“I think he’s been one of Celtic’s biggest players and I wouldn’t have said that about him a year or two ago.”
Maeda’s Celtic stats this season compared to last
| 2024/25 so far | 2023/24 |
| Played: 39 | Played: 36 |
| Goals: 25 | Goals: 10 |
| Assists: 9 | Assists: 4 |
Maeda has often been asked to play through the middle on the international stage with Japan.
However it has not been until this season where Brendan Rodgers has asked him to really step it up to challenge Adam Idah for his spot as the main striker.
That came after Kyogo was sold to Rennes without a natural frontman coming in. But Maeda has stepped up considerably to show his talents, as alluded to by Lennon.
His numbers have also dramatically improved in front of goal with just 10 strikes registered in all competitions last year.
It will likely be a straight shootout between Daizen and Kuhn for Celtic’s player of the year this year.
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