Neil Lennon changes his mind on how he ranks Kyogo, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda at Celtic

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Celtic have Ange Postecoglou a lot to thank for. 

In 2021, when Postecoglou first entered through the Celtic Park doors, the club needed picking up after Steven Gerrard had guided Rangers to the title.

A clean-up was needed at Celtic, and it required the powers that be to dip into the transfer market and refresh the squad.

Over various windows, rather than going down the usual route of trying to lure players around Europe to join and put Celtic back on top.

Postecoglou wanted to knock on his former stomping ground, as the former Yokohama F. Marinos boss nabbed the best players from the J-League in Japan and brought them to Scotland’s most successful club.

Fast forward to the present, and Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda have written their names into the club’s legendary books. 

• READ MORE: Neil Lennon sends transfer warning to Celtic amid possible summer sale of two big players

Neil Lennon changes his mind on Kyogo, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda

Kyogo was the main striker at Celtic before he left during the January transfer window, and Maeda has since gone to another level.

That includes scoring in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday, as Celtic booked their final ticket by thrashing St Johnstone.

Neil Lennon wanted to give Maeda his flowers and explained how, when the all-action forward first came to Glasgow, he ranked him below Kyogo and Hatate.

But speaking to Premier Sports (20/04/25), Lennon has now changed his mind and put Maeda right at the top of that list. 

“He has been superb this season,” said Lennon about Maeda. “But what I would say is that he has improved a lot. Not just with his finishing. 

“His movement has always been good. His pressing has always been great. But his feet have got better. What I mean by that is his close control has got better, and his finishing has got better. 

“I used to think, out of the three Japanese that came in, with Kyogo and Hatate, that he would have been third level. 

“But now he is more or less the first level, so he has improved immensely over the last couple of years at this club to be the main man. He has had a fabulous season.”

Kyogo, Hatate and Maeda’s records at Celtic

Of course, with Hatate being a midfielder, he brings something totally different to the table and is the one who runs the show.

Perhaps his numbers don’t really show what he means to Celtic because he is a joy to watch when he is at his best.

But Kyogo, Hatate, and Maeda’s records at Celtic have been beyond incredible, with the latter two still growing that legacy.