Daizen Maeda, a Japanese forward born on 20th October 1997, currently plays for Celtic, predominantly serving as a left winger. Standing at 5ft 8in (1.73m) and weighing in at 10st 9lb (68kg), he dons the number 38 jersey. Beyond his club commitments, Maeda has also been a key figure for the Japan national team. His current market value stands at an estimated £13.5m, rounded up from the euro equivalent, as reported by Transfermarkt.
Commencing his professional career in 2016, he joined Matsumoto Yamaga in the Japanese Lower Leagues where he made nine first team appearances in the same year. Over time, in the 2019 season at Matsumoto Yamaga, his raising potential saw him playing 18 times and netting twice. The following year, he temporarily transferred to Mito Hollyhock, where he recorded eight goals from 20 appearances.
In 2018, after returning to Matsumoto Yamaga, he repeated his previous record of 18 first team appearances, this time with two goals added to his name. A subsequent loan to Marítimo in the Liga Portugal 2 in 2019 saw Maeda make 23 first team appearances for a return of three goals.
By August 2020, he transferred from Matsumoto Yamaga to Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 league for an undisclosed fee. In his first season, he replicated his Portuguese stint and made 23 first team appearances, again scoring three goals. However, the 2021 season proved to be a breakthrough as he managed to find the back of the net 23 times from 36 appearances.
January 2022 saw Maeda transferred on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. In his first season, he made 16 appearances and scored six times. For the following 2022 - 2023 season, he notched eight goals from 35 appearances. By the next season, he had six goals from 28 appearances, and in the 2024 - 2025 season, he enjoyed a successful run with 16 goals from 34 appearances. Halfway through the current 2025 - 2026 season, Maeda has already scored five goals from just 12 appearances.
Upon his return to Yokohama F. Marinos, Maeda was then transferred to Celtic for a fee of around £1.4m in the 2022 season, where he made a mark with six goals from 16 appearances. The seasons that followed saw a fruitful stint with the Scottish club, boasting 22 goals from 87 appearances. The tally included 16 goals in the 2024 - 2025 season and five goals in just 12 appearances in the ongoing 2025 - 2026 season.
As a participant in several cups and qualifiers, Maeda claimed a goal in the 2025 - 2026 League Cup, a goal in the 2024 - 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asia and featured in the 2023 - 2024 Champions League and 2025 - 2026 Europa League for Celtic.
