‘Wildly underrated’ - Kieran Devlin singles out ‘dangerous’ Celtic hero for special praise

The Athletic journalist Kieran Devlin has paid special praise to on-loan Celtic midfielder Daizen Maeda, describing one aspect of his game as ‘wildly underrated’.

The 24-year-old joined the Hoops on a temporary basis in the January transfer window, with Ange Postecoglou seeing him as someone who could add extra quality to his squad.

Maeda has certainly done that, already scoring five goals in 10 Premiership starts, including one in Saturday’s 7-0 rout of St Johnstone at Parkhead.

The Japanese ace has excelled in his work both on and off the ball, proving to be an influential figure in Celtic’s double charge.

Taking to Twitter on Monday as he shared a tactical analysis piece from The Athletic, Devlin was full of praise for Maeda’s technical ability, comparing him favourably to Tom Rogic and Jota. The reporter gushed:

Maeda has been a fantastic signing for Celtic, making a hugely positive impact in a short space of time, and the hope is that he is considered a potential long-term acquisition.

It would be exciting to see his temporary move become permanent in the summer – there is an option for that to happen – with Postecoglou needing as many high-quality options as possible ahead of a prospective Champions League group stage return.

Maeda’s incredible energy has arguably stood out more than anything, as Devlin has outlined, but everything about him indicates that he has fitted in seamlessly to life at Parkhead.

In other news, Alex McLeish has urged there to be contract talks with one Celtic star. Find out who it is here.

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