Born on the 20th of October 1997, Daizen Maeda, who is currently 27 years of age, hails from Japan. He is primarily recognised as a forward but more specifically, Maeda operates as a left winger for his current team, Celtic. Standing at 5ft 8in (1.73m) tall and weighing 10st 9lb (68kg), he dons the number 38 jersey and has also represented the Japan national team in his football career.
His present market value stands at approximately £9.5m as indicated on Transfermarkt. He is contracted to Celtic until 31st May 2027, giving him an added year and 12 months with the team.
Maeda began his playing career in January 2016 with Matsumoto Yamaga in Japan's Lower Leagues. He made his debut in the same season, appearing in nine league matches. His time there saw him scoring two goals from 18 games played in the 2019 season.
In a brief stint away from Matsumoto Yamaga, he was loaned to Mito Hollyhock in Japan's J2 League in January 2017. Appearing twenty times for them in the league, Maeda managed to land eight goals during his loan spell.
After a successful spell at Mito Hollyhock, he returned to Matsumoto Yamaga in January 2018 to finish off what he had started, scoring two goals from 18 appearances in the 2019 season.
Maeda found himself on loan again in July 2019, this time with Marítimo in Portugal's Liga Portugal 2. Here, he notched three goals from 23 appearances in the 2019 - 2020 season.
An undisclosed fee bought Maeda's services to Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan's J1 League in August 2020. His time at Yokohama was quite fruitful, with 23 goals scored over two seasons from a total of 59 league appearances.
January 2022 saw him transferred on loan to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. He featured 16 times for Celtic in the 2021 - 2022 season and found the net on six occasions. In the 2022 - 2023 season, he improved his tally, scoring eight goals in 35 appearances. In the next season, he made 28 first team appearances and scored six goals. The current 2024 - 2025 season sees Maeda excelling with 16 goals scored in 34 appearances. He is expected to continue playing for Celtic in the 2025 - 2026 season. Maeda joined Celtic for a permanent fee of around £1.4m in July 2022.
He has also made his mark in tournaments outside the league. In the 2023 - 2024 Champions League, he started four times for Celtic. His performance in the 2024 - 2025 Scottish Cup was impressive with seven goals scored in five starts. Internationally, he has worked hard for Japan in the 2024 - 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with one goal from two starts and five substitute appearances. He also did well in the 2024 - 2025 Champions League for Celtic, with four goals in nine starts.
