MARTIN O’NEILL has opened up on the possibility of FOUR key players leaving Celtic before the transfer window closes on September 3.
Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren could be the quartet heading for the champions’ exit in a multi-million pound summer exodus.
O’Neill is bracing himself for big-money bids for his players in moves that will transform the current squad where only £5.5million Colombian striker Camilo Duran and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been added to last season’s double-winning pool of players.
PARADISE…Daizen Maeda celebrates one of his double in Celtic’s 3-1 win over Rangers at Parkhead on May 10.
Japanese World Cup striker Maeda once again provided vital strikes in the dramatic run-in to a remarkable campaign and all indications are that he will be on his way before the new campaign gets underway.
The 28-year-old jet-heeled frontman came close to a £14million switch to Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg last summer before the plug was pulled late in negotiations.
O’Neill revealed the club won’t play hard-ball if Maeda, signed for £1million from Yokohama F Marinos in January 2022, does decide he wants to leave Parkhead.
The 74-year-old manager said: “I think there’s some resignation about Daizen in that aspect.
“It isn’t one of those where he’s got a year left to run and we want to try and make something of it in the sense of getting money.
“It’s not that at all. Personally speaking, I would love it if he just let his contract run through and played for the last year.
“That would be super. I don’t know whether that’s in his mind or in his agent’s mind.
“If I throw it back, Henrik Larsson told me a year before that that was going to be his last year.
FLAG HAPPY…Arne Engels runs away in joy after his penalty-kick equaliser in Celtic’s 3-1 title-winning victory over Hearts at Parkhead on May 16.
“His contract was out at that stage and he was fantastic for us in the final season, but he made it clear that that’s what he was going to do.
“He had his time. The only difference is Daizen has a year left to run
“But it’s not one of us trying to make as much out of it in terms of finance.
“I said to him if he left the football club I would be disappointed, but he couldn’t have done any more for us. I’d love him to stay, but I’m not sure that that’s going to happen.”
Belgian midfielder Engels cost a club record £11million when he arrived from Bundesliga side Augsburg on summer deadline day in 2024 and the Hoops could DOUBLE that fee if the smooth operator leaves within the next six weeks.
Nottingham Forest reportedly made a £25million bid for the 22-year-old international late in the January window, but the Hoops just could not afford to allow him to leave with such a crucial period to face in their quest for success.
Premier League teams Crystal Palace and Fulham plus Serie A duo Lazio and Roma are among a host of other clubs monitoring Engels’ situation at Celtic.
SPOT ON…Reo Hatate looks cool after slotting away his penalty-kick as Celtic triumph in the shoot-out in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox in March.
O’Neill, speaking to the Scottish Sun, admitted he is not surprised at the interest in one of his star assets and commented: “I would imagine so, yeah. At this minute, I don’t think anything has happened.
“Where it carries on up towards the end of the window then suddenly something happens you’re not ready because it’s happening too late.
“All those bids Nottingham Forest made came in on the eleventh hour, so that was just a non-goer for us at that particular stage.
“Then he got injured just after that. So if some things can happen a bit earlier then maybe there’s some resignation on my part there, too.”
Japanese playmaker Hatate, who arrived from Kawasaki Frontale at the same time as Maeda, dropped off the radar at the tail-end of the previous term and failed to make the matchday squads for the vitally important games against Hearts and Dunfermline as the club sealed an incredible silverware double.
The 28-year-old middle-of-the-park performer, who has 24 months to run on his contract, missed the first part of the champions’ pre-season camp in Dublin after falling ill, but has now joined up with the squad at the training HQ in Portugal.
DIDN’T HE DO WELL…Swedish ace Benjamin Nygren celebrates after netting Celtic’s second goal in the crucial 3-2 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park on May 13 on their way to a fifth successive title.
O’Neill continued: “Reo has done exceptionally well at the club since he arrived. People have said he might even have been the best player in Scotland two or three years ago.
“I think he’s probably looking to maybe see if there are new pastures for him. I’ll see how it goes with him.
“During this particular time, it’s a bit unsettling for players so you just don’t know.
“Let’s see what options might be around, but if nothing develops I’d be very happy to keep him.”
Swedish World Cup midfielder Nygren claimed 21 goals in his debut crusade at Scotland’s title kings, a total that has attracted interest from elsewhere.
O’Neill wouldn’t be surprised if offers come in for the player who cost just £1.7million last summer and he added: “Benji’s stats are very high, so there’s every possibility something could happen there.”
Looks like it is going to be a fairly hectic summer for the manager and Celtic.
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