‘Can’t happen’ – Brendan Rodgers told Celtic won’t sell key man regardless of Champions League status

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There is always pressure at Celtic, regardless of what is or isn’t happening on the field of play.

Thankfully, in current times, Celtic are dominating the domestic scene like nobody has done before, to the point that missing out on a Treble is seen as a disappointment.

But that’s the levels Celtic have hit under Brendan Rodgers, and countless other managers who have stood in the dugout, as a crucial trip to Almaty in Kazakhstan to take on Kairat is almost here.

Regardless of whether Celtic secure Champions League football for the 2025/26 season or not, Charlie Mulgrew thinks there will be no surprise exits.

• READ MORE: Who is Daizen Maeda? Meet Celtic’s energetic, free-scoring talisman

Daizen Maeda won’t leave even if Celtic don’t qualify for the Champions League

Yes, Daizen Maeda hasn’t started the new campaign like he would have wanted, but he is still Celtic’s main goal threat.

Speaking on Go Radio, Mulgrew made it clear to a worried Celtic fan that Maeda won’t be sold, even if the champions of Scotland don’t secure Champions League football.

The former Hoops defender stated, regardless of what happens in Almaty, he thinks new faces will come in, ‘rather than getting rid of players.’

Celtic fan: “Honestly, if Celtic don’t qualify, I think you might see somebody go out of the door. I hate to say it. I think they might end up losing somebody, whether that’s Maeda or Hatate. I hope I am wrong.”

Mulgrew’s response: “That can’t happen (letting Maeda go). I 100% think there will be signings, regardless of how this game goes.

“I don’t think you can lose people like Maeda. When you look at before and when Celtic have lost, like Juranovic, they had Johnston to come in.

“If you are going to lose Maeda, you need to be guaranteed that you have somebody to replace him, and I don’t think, if anything, there needs to be two or three extras rather than getting rid of players. I don’t think Maeda can go at all. I think two or three need to come in.”

Maeda’s Celtic career in numbers

Playing Maeda down the middle might resolve the current issue of Scotland’s 2024/25 PFA Player of the Year only having one goal to his name this term.

With Adam Idah missing from Celtic’s win over Livingston on Saturday, it probably increases Maeda’s chances of playing down the middle.

Either way, you can see with the table above how Maeda has fared across the pitch during his time at Celtic.