BRENDAN RODGERS will hold urgent talks with Daizen Maeda to see where Celtic’s main striker’s head is at after he publicly stated his desire to quit the champs.
PFA Scotland and SFWA Player of the Year Maeda — who now has less than two years left of his deal — is due back at the Hoops’ Lennoxtown training base on Thursday morning following international friendly duty for Japan.
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And Rodgers is anxious to discover how affected the £20million-rated forward, who hit 33 goals last season, is at being denied a move after telling Hoops chiefs he wanted out — and even agreeing terms with a club.
The Celtic board — already dealing with fan fury and widespread mocking over their summer transfer dealings — blocked a deadline move because of their inability to replace him.
Maeda has been a pale shadow of last campaign’s dynamite goalscorer.
He’s managed just one goal in seven appearances and a shocking miss in the final minutes of the Champions League play-off exit to Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan ultimately cost Celtic a £40m place in the league phase.
The former Yokohama F. Marinos ace looks to have had his head turned by the concrete approach, with clubs in England, Germany, Italy and Turkey among many tracking him.
But Rodgers badly needs Maeda to return to form as the champions — top of the Premiership on goal difference from Hearts — return to action away to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Celtic signed free agent Kelechi Iheanacho the day after the deadline passed but Maeda is now expected to stay at Parkhead until at least January.
Mentor figure Ange Postecoglou, who signed him for £1.3m back in December 2021, could provide another exit option after he was confirmed as the new boss of Nottingham Forest.
Maeda, who has scored 63 goals in 283 games for the Hoops, told Japanese media: “I had been talking to Celtic until the last day, but it didn’t work out.
“I had received an offer and I had been telling the club I wanted to take the next step.
“But Celtic hadn’t been able to make any good reinforcements, so they couldn’t let me leave.
“There were some things that I had agreed to personally, so I wanted to take on the challenge.
“I’d been talking to the club since before the end of the previous season.
“I always told them I wanted to take the next step — but we had league games and lost in the Champions League qualifiers, so it was difficult.”
In March, Rodgers declared he wanted Maeda to stay on a lucrative new contract and that talks had started — but there’s not been even a hint of progress since.
However, Maeda, 27, added: “I’ve decided to stay. I want to work hard.”
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