The incredible Rangers rejection of Daizen Maeda as Ross Wilson filleted for 'absolutely bonkers' snub
Craig Moore has revealed how Rangers turned their nose up at signing Daizen Maeda before he became a Celtic revelation, branding the decision to snub the Asian market “absolutely bonkers”.
The former Ibrox star, part of the legendary nine-in-a-row Light Blues side, is close friends with fellow ex Rangers defender Kevin Muscat who was assistant to Ange Postecoglou at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan where Maeda was a star.
Postecoglou was in for the J-League ace after becoming Hoops boss but Muscat had given Moore a glowing reference of the player and he pitched him to then Rangers recruitment chief Ross Wilson. However, Moore said they weren’t interested in trying to hijack Celtic’s bid for the international star.
That now looks to be a mistake given he cost around just £1.4million and has been a huge hit at Parkhead, including a frequent thorn in the Rangers side with some huge derby goals - and the winning spot-kick that inflicted penalty shoot-out misery on the Light Blues at Hampden in this season’s Premier Sports Cup final.
Moore says he touted Maeda for a Gers move around October 2021 - with the player joining Celtic two months later, initially on loan. Aaron Ramsey signed for Rangers during the same window.
Moore, who now works as an agent, branded his old club’s ignorance of the Far East market as “absolutely bonkers” and claims they didn’t want to shop in Japan during Postecoglou’s time at the Celtic helm because it’s where their rivals were recruiting talent.
Moore was speaking on the Go Radio football show and was asked when he offered Maeda to Rangers. He said: “I think it was maybe October 2021. I tried to get Ross Wilson on the bait! I said, ‘Listen, I know the player has been linked or spoken about with