Brendan Rodgers thinks Daizen Maeda has Celtic transfer suitors from bigger clubs as he raves about his 'symbol'
Brendan Rodgers admits bigger clubs are bound to have an eye on Daizen Maeda after the Celtic striker hit the 25 goal mark in a 5-1 thumping of Aberdeen.
The Hoops boss hailed the Japan international who he insists symbolises everything his Celtic side is about as they soared 16 points ahead of Rangers with just 10 games remaining. Maeda’s brace bookended a thrashing of Jimmy Thelin’s side with Jota, Callum McGregor and Hyunjun Yang also chipping in for the champions.
It was a strong response to Saturday’s shock defeat against Hibs at Easter Road and Celtic have now struck 82 goals in 28 league outings. And Maeda, restored to the central position in the front three, led the way as he netted in the 24th and 92nd minutes to make it 12 goals in his last 11 games across all competitions. His haul includes four goals in the Champions League.
And asked if he reckons the 27-year-old will be on the radar for bigger clubs, Rodgers said: “Yes, I would think he would. I think a number of the players will because of their efficiency and their work. And not only that, they've done it at the highest level.
“If you're doing it at a Champions League level, you're showing that you can do it at that and on that stage. So, yes, I think if you're scoring goals like he has, work as hard as he does, then of course that will always bring attention.
“But I also think the team and the structure of the team really promotes his qualities. He’s a great symbol for our team and the collective. What I asked of him in terms of the pressing, and I've said before, he's the highest level of that and just the intensity that he presses.
“And then I believe he can score in whatever position he plays along the front line. You've seen him score goals from the right side, from the left side, as a central striker. Yes, his first goal was wonderful anticipation to get onto it.
“And the second goal is what he's shown a lot this season, where he's in the areas we want him to be in after a brilliant cross by Ali. So, as I said, a great symbol of how we play, how we work, how we train and deserving of everything he's getting so far.
“He was a fantastic player when I came in. We've just tried to make him more efficient. I think it's recognising that they have to score goals, the wingers.
“And I've always said that with my teams. Whether it was the first time here, you have to create and score goals. And he's just developing like you would as a football player. Players get better and improve and gain confidence.
“And from that, they get success. And that's what he's had this season.”
Despite the scoreline the Hoops were far from their best between the boxes with an uncharacteristic sloppiness creeping in in the first half. But Rodgers said: “Obviously the result and the scoreline was very impressive. I thought that the first half of goals were very good.
“I wasn't so happy with their pressing. That's not quite right. Then we were a wee bit loose with the ball, but the mentality was there in the team to be clinical. I thought in the second half we were much better.
“We played the game mostly in their half, suffocated the game and then scored two more wonderful goals. So, yeah, it's a really pleasing scoreline against a team that found that wee bit of form again and have good quality players. But we showed a real ambition in the game and that was very good.
“One of the traits that is within this team and what I recognise is the resilience in the team. Any moment this season when we've had a little bump, the mentality to come again has been there and that was what we had today. We were disappointed not to take something from the game at the weekend, but we knew in a very quick turnaround we had to get our energy up and show the ambition again.”
