How Celtic are planning to replace Daizen Maeda

And so, is the end in sight for Daizen Maeda at Celtic?

Based on the 28-year-old’s recent comments, following Japan’s World Cup exit, that would appear to be the case, with the talismanic forward admitting that he may harbour ambitions to play beyond the Scottish Premiership.

All good things must come to an end, but what a wild ride it’s been, encapsulated by the winger’s rampant end-of-season form that catapulted Martin O’Neill‘s men to the domestic double.

Such a unique, gem of a player, how do the champions even begin to go about replacing the irreplaceable?

O’Neill leading Celtic bid to sign £5m-rated sensation

The wait goes on for a first signing of the summer at Parkhead, even with pre-season already underway, the Hoops having seen potential title rivals Rangers and Hearts already recruit extensively in recent weeks.

Like those at Ibrox, a priority for Celtic does appear to be Premiership-proven signings, with Motherwell’s Elliot Watt being lined up as a possible Reo Hatate replacement.

There is also the ongoing speculation surrounding Watt’s club colleague, Elijah Just, with the Glasgow outfit set to face a real fight for his signature, following a standout World Cup for the Kiwi.

Celtic evidently like what they saw from the Fir Park boys last season, with Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph reporting that a move could also be on the cards for Tawanda Maswanhise.

The belief is that O’Neill is a ‘keen admirer’ of the 23-year-old, although there hasn’t been an approach as yet for the Premiership’s leading marksman.

Clubs across Europe, including Belgian side Anderlecht, are also in the picture, with prior reports indicating that The Well could look to cash in for a fee of around £5m.

Why Maswanhise could be another Maeda in the making

Let’s face it, there really is only one Maeda. A player of his rare skillset won’t be coming along any time soon.

And yet, if O’Neill is to find another fluid, attacking figurehead to shoulder the goalscoring burden next season, he could certainly do worse than look to the man who topped the scoring charts in the top-flight.

Of course, Maswanhise will have significant shoes to fill at Paradise, with Maeda cementing his cult status even further following his end-of-season heroics, following an initially muted start to 2025/26.

A goalscorer in each of Celtic’s last five Premiership games of the campaign, Maeda’s standout moment was, undoubtedly, that overhead kick against Rangers, although perhaps even more memorable was his emotional response to netting the hosts’ second goal on the final day against Hearts.

Perhaps there was a feeling earlier in the season that he’d simply checked out, but the passion was clear to see as he beat the Parkhead turf in delight, having subsequently scored his 79th and potentially final goal for the club against Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup showpiece.

At a time when Celtic’s string of forwards all faltered, Maeda really came to the fore, with O’Neill’s side looking at their best with the relentless presence of the Japanese speedster leading the line last term.

In Maswanhise, then, the 74-year-old could well find his new leading man, the Zimbabwean representing another slight, speedy forward who certainly knows where the back of the net is.

A talismanic figure in his own right at Fir Park, the former Leicester City man proved one of the breakout Premiership stars of 2025/26, following a promising, yet unremarkable 2024/25 campaign.

In all, he netted 22 goals in all competitions, 17 of which came in the Premiership, with the only frustration having perhaps been his dry spell post-split.

Like Maeda, he’s a versatile, dynamic forward who can operate through the middle or on either flank, able to make up for his lack of physicality by proving such a handful with his ability to stretch a defence and run in behind.

Like Celtic’s number 38 too, he can prove wayward in front of goal – having missed 17 ‘big chances’, behind Maeda’s tally of 23 – yet he does at least create opportunities for himself, something which can’t exactly be said of Junior Adamu, Tomas Cvancara and co.

His goal conversion rate of 19% was also only just below that of Maeda’s (20%), while the Motherwell man also scored a goal every 169 minutes, having started 37 league games in total.

Losing Maeda would certainly sting for a fair while, yet what better way to kick off the summer than by bringing in Maswanhise to try and replace him.