Season › 2024-25 › News The Rumour Mill Everton to offer Daizen Maeda an alternative to Celtic Michael Kenrick | 02/10/2025 12comments | Jump to last Something calling itself Sports Boom is claiming that Everton could offer Daizen Maeda an exit route out of Celtic, building on his desire to leave the Scottish giants in 2026. Maeda initially joined Celtic on loan from Japanese outfit Yokohama F Marinos in December 2021, before signing a permanent deal with the club. Last season, the 27-year-old forward racked up an impressive tally of 33 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, albeit most of those coming in the Scottish Premiership. However, he's struggled somewhat so far this season, perhaps a reflection of his predicament, with only 2 goals so far in 11 games. The Japanese international revealed earlier this season that he had an agreement with another club before Brendan Rodgers blocked his move late on in the summer window. Maeda revealed: “There were some things that I had agreed to personally, so I wanted to take on the challenge. 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 leave.” Sports Boom claim they have 'exclusive' intelligence that Everton will make a bid to sign Maeda when the transfer window reopens in January. Reader Comments (12) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer () Michael Kenrick 1 Posted 02/10/2025 at 09:24:31 I don't recall this little guy being name-checked by Robert... Seems more like a winger than a real striker, and would clash with Grealish in terms of his preferred role. And he's been subbed or a sub in more than half of those 11 games so far this season. And his value at TransferMarkt is modest at best. Jake FitzGerald 2 Posted 02/10/2025 at 09:55:46 Brentford were in for him in the summer, as were a few clubs, personal terms were agreed, Rodgers wouldn't let him go. So he's got the hump, hence the subbing this season. A superb goal scorer for Celtic, would he do it in the Premier League? Worth a go. Could be our Salah. Robert Tressell 3 Posted 02/10/2025 at 10:16:29 The fact that former Celtic star Furuhashi has scored 0 in 8 for Birmingham this season suggests Maeda would not be the answer. Jake FitzGerald 4 Posted 02/10/2025 at 10:22:08 Why’s that, Robert? Robert Tressell 5 Posted 02/10/2025 at 11:27:32 Because he like Furihashi is flattered by the abysmal standard of Scottish football. I know that Scottish football still produces good players now and again -- like most crap leagues -- but at 27 he's not a young player on the up. He's found his level. Jake FitzGerald 6 Posted 02/10/2025 at 11:47:55 Brentford, Fenerbaçhe, Forest and a leading Bundesliga club all disagree with you. Brentford agreed personal terms with him with heavy interest from the others. I take it you've seen him play, Robert? Because I have, and he'd slot in well for the correct Premier League club. Technically excellent, quick, with a superb eye for goal. One of the standout players in Celtic's last Champions League season. I'm going with Thomas Frank, Mourhino, Nuno and my own assessment of him here. Not all Japanese players are the same. Robert Tressell 7 Posted 02/10/2025 at 11:51:10 Fair enough Jake. I suspect he'd look v ordinary indeed in the Premier League and isn't an improvement on what we have already -- but happy to agree to disagree. Per Stumo 8 Posted 02/10/2025 at 16:11:39 His stats before last season are not impressing me but I suppose he could have made a jump and found a way to make it "click" more consistently. I haven't seen much of him but what little I have seen I'm not sure he fits in with our style, definitely not as a lone ranger on top.Probably an unpopular opinion considering his shoddy spell at Palace but I'd rather see us take a punt at getting Alexander Sørloth, especially considering our formation and style of play. He's a big, strong lad, with good footwork and decent pace who has improved quite a lot since he was at Palace. His record show 20+ goals in all competitions in Spain and Europe the last three years, as well as scoring every 2nd game for Norway the last two years. He's also quite used to being a lone striker in a 4-5-1 or whatever variation of that formation we play. He's valued about 25m, which is 10m less than what we paid for Barry. A player who has sadly made close to zero impact despite Beto being his main competition. Robert Tressell 9 Posted 02/10/2025 at 16:26:51 Per, I can’t see Atletico Madrid selling Sorloth for less than £50m. And then you’d have to ask why would he come to Everton? The answer would probably have to be a huge wage. Barry is struggling probably because he left a very well put together, good footballing Villarreal side that finished in the Champions League spots. Most games he played in last season, Barry was playing in the better side and side creating decent chances. Villarreal of last season are quite a bit better than us. It’s very different for him at Everton. Each game is much more competitive and we’re still struggling to find a footballing identity. Dale Self 10 Posted 02/10/2025 at 18:26:21 Sorry, but I'm getting a Japanese Sandro feeling about this. Don't desperately buy another one. Paul Hewitt 11 Posted 02/10/2025 at 19:19:50 Yes please. Cracking little player. Christy Ring 12 Posted 02/10/2025 at 20:02:11 It's very hard to judge players who do well in the Scottish Premiership, it's a poor league, and even though Maeda has stood out, I don't believe he's good enough for us. 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