Daizen Maeda, a Japanese-born left winger, was born on 20 October 1997, and presently plies his trade with Celtic. He cuts a stature of 1.73m (5ft 8in) and carries a weight of 68kg (10st 9lb). He dons the number 38 jersey for Celtic and is a capped player for the Japanese national team.
According to Transfermarkt, Maeda's current market value hovers around £12m.
In January 2016, Maeda signed for Japanese side Matsumoto Yamaga, where he featured nine times in the league during his debut season. His 2019 season at the club saw him score twice from 18 appearances.
Maeda was loaned out to Mito Hollyhock in the J2 League in January 2017, where he scored eight times from his 20 league appearances that season. He returned to Matsumoto Yamaga from his loan in January 2018, repeating his debut year form with nine league appearances and maintaining a steady contribution in goal scoring with two goals in his 2019 season.
He then moved to Portugal's Liga Portugal 2's side, Marítimo, on loan in July 2019. Maeda made 23 appearances, slotting the ball thrice into the net that season.
He made a permanent shift to the J1 League's Yokohama F. Marinos in August 2020 for an undisclosed fee, and had a stellar 2021 season where he notched up 23 goals from 36 appearances. His 2020 season saw him make 23 appearances and score thrice.
Maeda joined Celtic on loan in January 2022 and was instrumental in his team's fortune, finding the back of the net six times from 16 games in the 2021-2022 season. His subsequent seasons were equally fruitful, with 8 goals from 35 appearances in the 2022-2023 season, 6 from 28 in 2023-2024, and 16 from 34 in 2024-2025 season. Currently, in the 2025-2026 season, Maeda has scored six times from his 18 appearances.
He made his transfer permanent to Celtic in July 2022 for a fee believed to be in the region of £1.4m. His contribution remained steady through his ensuing seasons, echoing his form from his loan spell at the club.
Maeda has also made notable appearances in various cups and tournaments, most notably the League Cup 2025-2026 for Celtic - scoring once in 3 starts and appearing once as a substitute, the World Cup Qualifiers Asia 2024-2026 for Japan - scoring once in two starts and making five appearances as a substitute, the Champions League Qualifiers 2025-2026 for Celtic with two starts, and the Europa League 2025-2026 for Celtic with four starts and one appearance as a substitute.
