DAIZEN MAEDA is looking forward to putting on a show for the Celtic fans, teaming up with Kyogo Furuhashi and scoring the goals that will bring the ultimate prize of the Premiership title.
The twice-capped Japanese international striker joined his former Yokohama F Marinos boss Ange Postecoglou for the second time in 10 months and the speedy attacker admitted he is relishing overcoming the challenges that lay ahead.
Twenty-four-year-old Daizen, who was last season’s top marksman in the J-League with a haul of 23 goals, is excited at the prospect of performing in a new country and wants to become an instant hit in the same manner of Kyogo who has already collected 16 goals since his £4.6million arrival from Vissel Kobe in late July.
THREE CHEERS…Daizen Maeda is flanked by fellow-countrymen Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate as they pose at Parkhead.
He will also have fellow-countrymen Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate for company following Postecoglou’s triple swoop on Hogmanay.
Daizen said: “I worked with the manager during my Yokohama days and I really admire his strong views and opinions and he’s the type of manager you want to follow and do your best for.
“Of course, the ultimate goal is to win the league and in order to do that, I need to score lots of goals, so that’s my current focus.
“I’m so excited and I want to do really well and score if I can. My game is about putting everything into the match and, hopefully, I can excite the fans.”
Looking forward to linking up with club and country team-mate Kyogo, Daizen, speaking to the Celtic website, added: “Both of us have similar speed as a strength.
“At the moment I’m thinking of how we will apply pressure to the opposing team when it comes to attack and defence.
“I’m extremely looking forward to playing with Kyogo, but also the other team-mates.
“I want to utilise my speed and I can’t wait for the fans to watch how I play.”
GETTING SHIRTY…Daizen Maeda poses with his new No.38 Celtic jersey.
Celtic Park will be the place to be on Monday evening when Hibs visit as the Premiership restarts following the three-week winter break and Postecoglou’s men are eager to begin cutting back the six-point deficit at the Premiership pinnacle.
Twenty-four hours after the match in the east end of Glasgow, Giovanni van Bronckhorst will take his Ibrox side to the north east for a meeting with ex-Hoops skipper Scott Brown and his Aberdeen team.
The Dons will be looking to extract revenge after being denied victory in Govan earlier in the season due to a ludicrous late-penalty-kick awarded by referee John Beaton. James Tavernier netted to make it 2-2 to prevent the side toppling to defeat.
The games at Parkhead and Pittodrie could turn out to be pivotal in the pursuit of this season’s championship.
Daizen is ready to play his part.
