DAIZEN MAEDA helped Celtic recover from the road in a large title showdown on Saturday — earlier than heading south to absorb an EFL recreation 24 hours later.
The Hoops winger, 28, performed the complete 90 minutes at Parkhead as Martin O’Neill‘s males fended off St Mirren with a crucial 1-0 win to keep their title hopes alive.
The Japan star was a relentless thorn within the Saints’ facet however couldn’t make an affect in entrance of objective, regardless of laying a golden alternative on a plate for (*24*) who fluffed his traces from shut vary within the second half.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s early strike proved to be the distinction as Celtic stored Craig McLeish’s males at bay to safe the factors.
With simply 5 video games left within the race for the Premiership trophy, the Parkhead stars are firmly centered on bringing the title again to the East End of Glasgow.
But Maeda took the possibility to flee the strain cooker of the title race with Rangers and Hearts by taking in some English motion on Sunday afternoon.
The ahead shared a video on his Instagram story revealing he had travelled to St Andrew’s to look at Birmingham City tackle Wrexham.
The Blues ran out 2-0 winners within the EFL Championship clash due to objectives from Carlos Vicente and Christoph Klarer — however Maeda was there to regulate a well-known face.
He was within the stands to assist former Celtic team-mate and compatriot Tomoki Iwata, who swapped Glasgow for the Midlands within the summer season of 2024.
Iwata has been a mainstay for the Blues since his transfer and put in an 86-minute shift towards the Welsh facet earlier than being changed by Tommy Doyle.
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Maeda posted a video of the midfielder leaving the pitch to a heat reception, including a translated caption that learn: “Nice win 🔥”
Iwata isn’t the one former Parkhead favorite at the moment on the books at Birmingham, however countryman Kyogo Furuhashi is enduring a nightmare stint south of the border.
The striker has struggled for kind since his summer season swap, netting simply three objectives in 31 appearances, and his future now appears to be like unsure after falling out of favour.
Kyogo’s season is already over after he underwent surgery on the recurring shoulder harm that plagued his time in Scotland.
The frontman has gone below the knife early in a determined bid to seek out his health and get his profession again on monitor for subsequent time period.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
