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.jpg) Maeda training withCeltic in 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daizen Maeda[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1997-10-20)20 October 1997 (age 28) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Taishi,Osaka, Japan | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Celtic | |||||||||||||
| Number | 38 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2009 | Taishi JSC | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Kawakami FC | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Yamanashi Gakuin University High School | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2016–2020 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 56 | (9) | |||||||||||
| 2017 | →Mito HollyHock (loan) | 36 | (13) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | →Marítimo (loan) | 23 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2020 | →Yokohama F. Marinos (loan) | 23 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 36 | (23) | |||||||||||
| 2022 | →Celtic (loan) | 16 | (6) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Celtic | 107 | (33) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Japan U23 | 17 | (9) | |||||||||||
| 2019– | Japan | 26 | (4) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | ||||||||||||||
Daizen Maeda (前田 大然,Maeda Daizen; born 20 October 1997) is a Japanese professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forScottish Premiership sideCeltic and theJapan national team.[3]
In 2016, Maeda joinedMatsumoto Yamaga FC. He got his J-League debut on 28 February 2016.[4] It was on 28 August 2016, that he scored his first goal as a professional in anEmperor's Cup game againstTokuyama University.[5]
After his loan spell atMito, he struggled for regular playing time and was loaned to the Portuguese club,Maritimo in 2019.[6] He left the club in 2021 after his loan withYokohama F. Marinos was made permanent.
Maedan joinedMito HollyHock on a loan deal from February 2017 until January 2018.[7] He ended the season while scoring 13 goals.[8]
On 11 August 2019, he made his debut in the opening round ofPortuguese League againstSporting CP when he came on as a substitute in the 57th minute.[9][10]
On 25 August 2019, Maeda scored his debut goal in a 3–2 loss toCD Tondela.[11][12]
In August 2020, he was loaned toYokohama F. Marinos.[13] He scored his first goal after the transfer in the match againstShimizu S-Pulse on 19 August, and contributed to the team's first victory in three games.[14][15]
By the end of the season, the deal was made permanent.[16] On 7 March 2021, he scored a brace againstSanfrecce Hiroshima[17][18] and continued his prolific run of form on 17 March, scoring four goals in one game againstTokushima Vortis.[19][20] On 25 September 2021, with a goal againstYokohama FC, Maeda became thetop scorer in the J1 League.[21][22] On 6 November against FC Tokyo, he scored his second hat-trick of the season to keep his spot in the top scorers' ranking.[23] In addition to being named in theJ.League Best XI at the end of the season, Maeda was also co-J.League Top Scorer withLeandro Damiao ofKawasaki Frontale, who had equalled his total of 23 goals for the campaign.[24]
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On 31 December 2021, it was announced that Maeda had signed forScottish Premiership clubCeltic on loan for the rest of the season, with an obligation to buy at the end of the loan.[25] On 17 January 2022, Maeda made his debut for Celtic and scored his first goal in the 4th minute, in a league fixture againstHibernian atCeltic Park. Maeda signed a four-year contract with Celtic at the end of the season, when his move was made permanent.[26]
On 6 September 2022, Maeda came on as a half-time substitute forLiel Abada to make hisUEFA Champions League debut in a 3–0 home defeat againstReal Madrid.[27] On 2 January 2023, he scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw atRangers.[28] His form at this time sawPremier League sideSouthampton monitor him.[29]
On 6 July 2023, Maeda signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027.[30]
Maeda had his most prolific season during 2024–25, scoring over 30 goals, with his form particularly picking up from January.[31] He scored his first Champions League goal againstSlovan Bratislava, and scored a further three againstBorussia Dortmund,Club Brugge andBayern Munich.[32] This put him level withShinji Kagawa andTakumi Minamino for most goals by a Japanese player in the Champions League.[33] It also made him the first player to score four goals for Celtic inUEFA competition sinceJoe Craig in the1977–78 season.[34][35]
Upon scoring againstKilmarnock on 12 April 2025, he became the first Celtic player to score in eight consecutive starts at Parkhead sinceHenrik Larsson in 2004.[36][37] Celtic fans also began singing Maeda's name to the tune of "Tequila" bythe Champs.[38]
Maeda was named as one of four nominees for the 2024–25PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year, alongside teammatesCallum McGregor andNicolas Kühn, andDundee strikerSimon Murray.[39]
In August 2025 it was reported that Maeda wanted to leave Celtic but could not as the club did not have time to buy a backup. This lead to poor form from Maeda in the months of September and October, only scoring two goals.[40]
On 24 May 2019, Maeda was called byJapan's head coachHajime Moriyasu to feature in theCopa América played in Brazil.[41] He was also the first Matsumoto Yamaga player to ever feature for the senior side. He made his debut on 17 June 2019 in the game against Chile, as a starter.[42]
In Japan's2022 World Cup game againstGermany, Maeda was placed as starting striker. He was substituted in the 57th minute byTakuma Asano. Japan advanced out of the group stage after beatingSpain 2–1. On 5 December 2022, Maeda scored a goal in the 43rd minute to put Japan in front during the round of 16 game againstCroatia which eventually ended 1–1, with Japan crashing out after their defeat on penalties.[43]
Along with his Celtic teammateReo Hatate, Maeda was called up to the Japanese squad for the2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.[44]
Though primarily and initially used by bothMatsumoto Yamaga andYokohama F. Marinos as aleft winger, Maeda is able to operate in a number of positions as aforward, including on the opposite flank, as anattacking midfielder or occasionally asecond striker. Regarding his stamina and conditioning, former coachJohn Hutchinson referred to Maeda as a "machine", whileArthur Papas, who also coached Maeda during his time at Yokohama, hailed his pace and sprinting.[45]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Matsumoto Yamaga | 2016 | J2 League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | |
| 2018 | J2 League | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 29 | 7 | ||
| 2019 | J1 League | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 2 | ||
| Total | 56 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 57 | 10 | |||
| Mito HollyHock (loan) | 2017 | J2 League | 36 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 36 | 13 | |
| Marítimo (loan) | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 24 | 4 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos (loan) | 2020 | J1 League | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 30 | 3 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2021 | J1 League | 36 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 23 |
| Total | 59 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 26 | ||
| Celtic (loan) | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 1 | 22 | 8 |
| Celtic | 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6[e] | 0 | 49 | 11 |
| 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 28 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 36 | 10 | |
| 2024–25 | Scottish Premiership | 34 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9[e] | 4 | 51 | 33 | |
| 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6[f] | 0 | 19 | 4 | |
| Total | 123 | 39 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 27 | 5 | 177 | 66 | ||
| Career total | 297 | 90 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 32 | 5 | 364 | 119 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 4 | |
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 June 2022 | Noevir Stadium Kobe,Kobe, Japan |  Ghana | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2022 Kirin Cup |
| 2. | 5 December 2022 | Al Janoub Stadium,Al Wakrah, Qatar |  Croatia | 1–0 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (1–3p) | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 3. | 20 June 2023 | Suita City Football Stadium,Suita, Japan |  Peru | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup |
| 4. | 5 September 2024 | Saitama Stadium 2002,Saitama, Japan |  China | 6–0 | 7–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Matsumoto Yamaga
Celtic
Individual
Japan squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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