By Georgia Goulding
Copyright glasgowworld
Celtic captain Callum McGregor has insisted upon his teammate’s dedication to the team as the Hoops continue their unbeaten Scottish Premiership run and prepare for Europa League action. Daizen Maeda has established himself as a crucial player for Celtic, especially after his superb return last season. The versatile Japanese international tallied a total 33 goals and 12 assists across all competitions and was named the PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year thanks to his mammoth efforts. Naturally, Maeda has been the topic of interest from rival clubs and even reached an agreement to leave the club over the summer. However, a late collapse left the winger in limbo and instead of moving on, Maeda remains at Parkhead. Often, players do not react well to failed transfers, especially when the cause is through no fault of their own. However, McGregor has assured Maeda has not taken the news negatively and is still very much committed to the cause at Celtic. “No, no, definitely not. He’s one of these characters that gives you 100 percent no matter what,” the skipper confirmed after Maeda popped up with a superb diving header to go one-up against Kilmarnock at the weekend (via Record Sport). “He’s one guy you can hang your hat on that is going to give you 100 percent until the day he does move on. To be fair, I think everybody at some point expected that might be the case, considering he’s flown all the way across the world to play for this club. “He’s been amazing for the team, he’s been amazing for the club, he’s done so well and I’m sure he’ll continue to do that as well.” Speaking to Japanese media during Celtic’s pre-season tour, Maeda admitted he had received an offer to join another club and had agreed terms on a personal level as he looked to take the next step in his career. “I had received an offer, and I had been telling the club that I wanted to take the next step, but Celtic hadn’t been able to make any good reinforcements, so in the end they told me they couldn’t let me play,” the 27-year-old admitted. “There were some things that I had agreed to personally, so I wanted to take on the challenge.” Despite being open to leaving Celtic and seemingly closing in on a deal to leave over the summer, Maeda is determined to keep up performances for the Bhoys and work with his teammates. “I’ve decided to stay at Celtic, so I want to do my best as a member of the team,” he continued. In other news, Ex Celtic coach in the running for International job as potential Rangers managerial target fights on in current role
