Daizen Maeda will have to head out in international duty and miss a run of games with Celtic including the Glasgow Derby.
There was hope Japan wouldn’t fall up Daizen so he could settle into life at Glasgow but that has turned out not to be the case.
The Japanese squad was announced with the new Celtic frontman included. There was some good news with Hatate not being called up and Guchi also staying in Glasgow.
Maeda was going to be our main striker over the next period of time while Kyogo returned from injury but now we have to get on with things without our top two frontmen.
Asked why they chose to call up Daizen considering his Celtic move this month Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu told Dan Orlowitz:
“I think he earned this transfer because (Postecoglou) knows his character and his quality. That’s a big advantage and is a big reason for why we called him up.”
“A lot of the time right after a transfer, managers don’t know how to use their new players & integrate them into the side, and in those cases we might not call them up. But Postecoglou knows how to use Daizen. It’s very important for the manager to understand the player.”
Ange knowing the player well has gone against us in the end.
It’s going to be an interesting and pivotal few weeks for Celtic and it’s very bad timing.
The Japanese manager revealed what he expected from Daizen during the World Cup qualifiers and it’s what Celtic fans want the player to be doing in Glasgow:
“What I expect from him are goals. He scored shortly into his debut for Celtic and he was the J1 (co-)top scorer last season. That’s what I want from him.”
Kyogo is out injured so Giakoumakis will likely get the not upfront in the coming games. It’s a big chance for the Greek star to impress.
