Content creator Chris Hamill, who gets featured on Sky Sports, has claimed that Celtic forward Daizen Maeda must be working hard behind the scenes amid recent improvement.
In the January transfer market, the striker arrived in Celtic on an initial loan move from Yokohama F Marinos. His time with the Bhoys, however, got off to a bit of a shaky start, as he received some criticism.
Indeed, only back in March, manager Ange Postecolgou and journalist Mark Guidi both spoke out in defence of Maeda and it seems as though the 24-year-old could perhaps now be proving them right.
Will Daizen Maeda be a key player for Celtic in the final part of this season?
Yes
No
Having now scored in back-to-back league games, the attacker is catching the eye and Hamill noted one moment from the recent win over Ross County outlined his clear improvement.
He shared the clip on Twitter in which picks the ball up wide, before linking up with his teammates with two clever backheel passes which ultimately sets up Tom Rogic who strikes his effort just wide.
Hamill added to the clip: “Maeda is improving every week. Man must be working his b******* off behind the scenes. Couldn’t pass for love nor money when he arrived.”
TIF thoughts on Daizen Maeda and Celtic…
It is interesting to see that, according to WhoScored, Maeda has registered vastly improved match ratings in the past few weeks, which indicate how his form has improved. While he also created two key chances in that game against Ross County which does suggest, as Hamill claims, that his passing has gotten better.
There is clearly enough about the player for his manager Postecolgou to come to his defence in the press, and so the Australian will likely be delighted that his faith is beginning to be repaid with strong displays on the pitch.
Just 14 games into his Celtic career, Maeda already has six goals. That’s not a bad start to life in Scotland. He is yet to register an assist though, but with his passing apparently getting better, that could change very soon.
In other news: Hugely exciting image emerges out of Celtic – opinion