Not the start to the season that Daizen Maeda or Celtic would have wanted.
Class is permanent, and there needs to be patience with Maeda, but Celtic’s 1-1 draw against Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League would have been painful for the Japan star.
Brendan Rodgers started Maeda as the main striker, with Shin Yamada not in the Europa League squad, Johnny Kenny absent and Kelechi Iheanacho on the bench.
But the Celtic manager had seen enough by the break when he hooked off Maeda for Iheanacho, and it has got people talking.
Photo by PREDRAG MILOSAVLJEVIC/AFP via Getty ImagesCeltic ‘in a bit of a pickle’ with Daizen Maeda
One of the issues here is that Maeda wanted to leave in the summer, and that was made public once the 2025 summer transfer window slammed shut.
So, having that cloud above his head isn’t helpful, although Chris Sutton wants Rodgers to possibly play the versatile forward on the right-hand side.
Sutton stated on social media that he sympathises with Maeda because he has been ‘shoehorned’ into a position that isn’t his natural spot.
“Maeda off… if he’s not injured, I feel for him,” said Sutton. “A guy who was a revelation playing wide shoehorned into playing a position he’s not comfortable in.
“Surely playing him off the right would be better. 33 goals last season… a bit of a pickle Celtic are in…”
Maeda off… if he’s not injured I feel for him. A guy who was a revelation playing wide shoehorned into playing a position he’s not comfortable in… surely playing him off the right would be better. 33 goals last season… a bit of a pickle Celtic are in…
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) September 24, 2025
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Maeda’s ratings for Celtic against Red Star Belgrade
As you can imagine, it’s not good reading for Maeda, and it’s going to be interesting to see what Rodgers does going forward.
With Iheanacho scoring again, calls for the free agent signing to become Celtic’s main striker will only grow because it comes more naturally to him.
But as you can imagine, the numbers didn’t look great for Maeda in Belgrade, as WhoScored provided him with a rating of under six.
Shots: 0Touches: 7Unsuccessful touches: 1Offsides: 2Passes: 4Passing accuracy: 75%Rating: 5.96