Former Celtic ace Simon Donnelly has been sharing his delight at the recent displays of Daizen Maeda live on Sky Sports News.
Donnelly was speaking after another great weekend for Ange Postecoglou’s men, which saw the Bhoys put seven past St Johnstone ahead of a huge Old Firm derby clash in the Scottish Cup on the weekend.
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Although Giorgos Giakoumakis helped himself to another goal on Saturday, it was Maeda who has impressed Donnelly, with the 47-year-old hailing the forward’s recent performances.
The 24-year-old was making just his 11th appearance in the Scottish Premiership but added to what is now five goals and an assist in those games at the weekend (via Transfermarkt).
Maeda’s recent form has been really impressive, with three of those goals and his sole assist coming in his last four league games.
And Donnelly believes the Japanese forward’s form is raising the levels of those around him, with Giakoumakis also finding his feet in the Scottish league.
He said: “Maeda again, incredible energy. The guy, it’s just unbelievable to watch him. And that drags everybody else on, that brings everybody up to the levels that Ange wants, and that’s evident in the result.”
TIF Thoughts on Donnelly’s comments…
We have also been impressed with the 24-year-old in recent weeks given his form in front of goal had dipped over February in the Premiership (via Transfermarkt).
And we are interested to see how his strong end to the campaign will affect his chances of seeing his loan deal become a permanent one over the summer.
With his deal set to expire at Parkhead at the end of May, will Maeda’s current form be enough to have convinced Postecoglou he should be made a permanent feature for next season?
In the absence of Kyogo Furuhashi, Maeda has certainly helped the Bhoys to fill the void in goals left behind by his fellow countryman, which has seen the Hoops climb to the top of the table.
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