Ipswich Town are reportedly in talks to sign Daizen Maeda.
Widely expected to leave Celtic this summer, the forward has various suitors south of the border.
Maeda has publicly stated his desire to move to the Premier League, having established himself as a hero over his four-and-a-half years in Glasgow.
Ipswich appear to have advanced to the front of the queue, with the Tractor Boys reportedly making an opening offer.
Is Daizen Maeda a Celtic legend?
Daizen Maeda on Celtic asking price: ‘I wish it would go down’
The Daily Record report that Ipswich have submitted an opening bid for Maeda, with the Scottish Sun stating that they are keen to get a deal done quickly.
Still in Japan after his World Cup outings, he has been discussing his asking price.
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Asked by PUSH Sports about his price tag ranging from £14 million to £19 million, he jokingly said: “I wish it would go down even more!
“If it goes down, it will be easier for me to transfer teams. So I don’t want it to go up.”
He continued: “Playing in the Premier League has been a dream of mine for a long time, so I feel I need to keep working harder to get there.”
Newly-promoted to the English top-flight, Ipswich lost Celtic-linked boss Kieran McKenna over the summer, replacing him with Gary O’Neil.
Japan suffered a third consecutive heartbreaking World Cup exit by losing to a Brazil winner right at the very end.
Maeda started the match and played 90 minutes, impressing with his performance and earning plaudits from pundits who both were and weren’t familiar with him.
Earlier in the tournament, he scored against Sweden, making it a second consecutive goalscoring World Cup while at Celtic.
Daizen Maeda: irreplaceable?
How can Celtic move on from him this summer?
Daizen Maeda’s final run at Celtic
Maeda has established his status as a modern Celtic legend with his extraordinary form for the run-in, scoring in each of the Hoops’ last seven games of the season.
Among these goals were a sensational overhead kick against Rangers that will go down in history, as well as the goal that tipped the title decider against Hearts in the Hoops’ favour.
Maeda came close to leaving Celtic last summer, reportedly even clearing his belongings from Lennoxtown ahead of a proposed move to Wolfsburg.
His Celtic record now reads: 212 appearances, and 80 goals. He has won ten trophies and scored in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
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