Season › 2024-25 › News The Rumour Mill Everton to offer Daizen Maeda an alternative to Celtic Michael Kenrick | 02/10/2025 5comments | 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 (5) 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 PL? 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. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. How to get rid of these ads and support TW © ToffeeWeb