A lot of talk around Celtic’s January transfer window has centred around incomings.
But will Celtic sell any key players in the winter? Daizen Maeda was a talking point in the summer, and the same could happen again in January.
It has been a mixed season for Maeda, who struggled before Brendan Rodgers left, looked back to his best under Martin O’Neill, and is now showing positive signs under Wilfried Nancy.
Following Celtic’s 4-2 win over Livingston at the weekend, Chris Sutton shared his thoughts on Maeda’s transfer situation and what he has noticed about his performances.
At what price would you consider selling Daizen Maeda?
Chris Sutton on Daizen Maeda’s performances and his Celtic future
Remember, it was this time last year, when Kyogo Furuhashi left Celtic, that Maeda burst into life and went on a goal-crazy run.
It resulted in Maeda winning Scotland’s PFA Player of the Year award, and now Sutton thinks he is looking ‘back to his physical best.’
It was a chaotic game for the Hoops against Livingston, including four goals being scored inside the first ten minutes from either side.
But whilst Maeda didn’t get on the scoresheet, Sutton liked what he saw, and added that ‘he looked sharp’ on Celtic’s stronger side.
Speaking on The Warm-Up, Sutton admitted that he might be ‘proven wrong’, but Celtic simply can’t allow the Japan star to leave when the January transfer window re-opens.
“I think there has been progress,” said Sutton. “You see some of the patterns, especially down that left-hand side.
“I have got to say, Daizen Maeda, I don’t know whether he is playing for a move away in January. Celtic can’t sell him. They just absolutely can’t. I will probably be proven wrong on that.
“But he looks back to his physical best. He looked sharp.”
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