When Kyogo Furuhashi left Celtic to join Ligue 1 side Rennes in the winter transfer window, fans were left wondering who would step up to fill the void created upfront. As it turns out, his Japanese teammate was there to grab the opportunity.

Daizen Maeda has filled the central forward spot brilliantly and hasn’t looked back since. He has found the back of the net regularly and has scored 30 goals so far this season. Such performances are hard to go unnoticed.

Coach Brendan Rodgers believes that Maeda will attract interest from various clubs in the future. He spoke about the Japanese forward recently, saying: “I would think Daizen would be getting interest.

“If you’re doing it at a Champions League level, you’re showing you can do it on that stage.

“If you’re scoring goals like he has, working as hard as he does, then of course that will always bring attention.

“Daizen is a great symbol for our team and the collective, he brings the highest level of intensity we want.

“He is deserving of everything he’s getting so far, and he’s developing as afootballplayer.”

Maeda has been phenomenal this season and is expected to win Scotland’s Player of the Year award. Celtic won’t want the Japanese forward to leave the club anytime soon and are trying to extend his contract.

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are set to offer Maeda a bumper new deal as Rodgers bids to fend off growing transfer interest.

But we don’t know the stance of Maeda regarding his contract extension and a possible extension. He had sent alarm bells ringing recently when admitting he was “not sure” when asked about his future with the Hoops.

For their part, Celtic must do everything in their power to keep Maeda at the club for as long as possible. Hopefully, the struggles faced by Kyogo since leaving would make him think twice before considering leaving the club, especially so close to the 2026 World Cup.

Maeda’s long-term future with Celtic is still uncertain. But for now, he seems to be happy at Celtic and is settled in Glasgow with his family.