The harsh truth Daizen Maeda must face before leaving Celtic for Ipswich Town

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Daizen Maeda has built a brilliant legacy at Celtic, but moving to Ipswich Town would be a terrible way to bring it to an end.

Nobody can blame Maeda for wanting a crack at the Premier League. He has won everything in Scotland and has never hidden his ambition to play in England.

But Ipswich is not the kind of move supporters expected him to make. Leaving Celtic for a newly promoted side expected to struggle feels like a backward move.

A reported £10m deal would give Maeda a huge Premier League payday but it would also take him away from trophies, European football and drop him straight into a relegation fight.

That is a huge gamble for a player who turns 29 next year.

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Maeda could walk away from Celtic as a hero

Maeda has won five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups at Celtic. He also scored nine goals in the final seven matches of last season as Martin O’Neill’s side completed another double.

He arrived under Ange Postecoglou and grew into one of Celtic’s most important players. His goals, work rate and performances in big games have made him one of the club’s most popular modern players.

That is why this move makes no sense. A transfer to one of England’s established clubs would be understandable, but this is a risk for Maeda.

Swapping a starring role at Celtic for a laborious season near the bottom of the Premier League is a big change.

Ipswich move looks all wrong for Celtic icon Maeda

Ipswich scored 80 Championship goals last season, but their strikers managed only 18 of them. Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene scored 28 between them from wide areas.

The real warning is what happened the last time Ipswich played in the Premier League. They scored just 36 goals in 38 matches and went down after winning only four games.

Maeda gets chance after chance at Celtic because the Hoops control matches and spend most of their time attacking. At Ipswich, he could spend more time chasing full-backs and defending his own box than scoring goals.

Maeda deserves a Premier League move, but he also deserves a better one than this. Leaving Celtic as a hero to become Ipswich’s £10m runner in a relegation battle would be a dreadful move.