Rodgers could land big Maeda upgrade in Celtic swoop for £5m talent
Celtic will lead the Scottish Premiership standings in 2025, as they did in 2024, following a 4-0 win against Motherwell on Boxing Day.
The Hoops would have gone into next year at the top of the division regardless of Thursday’s result, but they have created a comfortable advantage at the top.
Brendan Rodgers’ team currently leads Rangers by 12 points and is on track to win the league for the fourth consecutive time.
Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, and Reo Hatate scored to give the Hoops all three points at Parkhead, as Kasper Schmeichel made no saves between the sticks.
Celtic put up a dominant performance and earned a well-deserved victory, extending their Premiership unbeaten streak to 17 games, and Rodgers will undoubtedly be pleased with his team’s performance.
Maeda’s position may be jeopardized as the January transfer window approaches. The Northern Irishman is allegedly looking to add a left-winger to the squad.
On Thursday, the Japan international scored his third goal of the season in the Premiership against Motherwell, shooting from close range into an empty net in the second half.
The winger’s performance was ineffective, as he missed two ‘big chances’ and lost four of his five ground duels, indicating wastefulness in front of goal and weakness in clashes with opposing players.
Maeda has missed nine ‘big chances’ in 14 Premiership starts, resulting in three goals.
This demonstrates that the 27-year-old attacker has let his teammates down by failing to capitalize on the high-quality opportunities that have been frequently generated for him in the top flight.
Maeda, who has three assists in 14 league starts, has struggled to offer consistent quality at the top end of the pitch in the 2023/24 Premiership season for the Scottish club.
As shown in the table above, the Japanese forward wasted twice as many ‘big opportunities’ as he scored goals, and he rarely demonstrated much inventiveness, creating one chance every other game on average.
This means Maeda has scored nine goals and missed 21 ‘great opportunities’ in the Premiership since the beginning of last season, while failing to create anything in that time, which is why the Hoops could benefit from an upgrade in his position.
Rodgers might find that boost by pursuing one of the club’s reputed transfer targets when the January transfer market starts next month.
According to Nettavisen, Celtic is interested in signing Sarpsborg forward Sondre Orjasaeter.
Rodgers plans to add a left-sided attacker to contend for a starting position in the second half of the season, expanding his options in that part of the game.
It was unclear how much the Norwegian side would seek for the 21-year-old star, and it remains to be seen whether the Hoops are willing to make an official bid for his services.
Sarpsborg may ask for a price to sign the Norway U21 international, who is presently valued at £5 million by Transfermarkt.
Orjasaeter’s performance for his team in the 2024 Eliteserien season implies that he has the potential to come in and outperform the present Hoops player at the top of the pitch.
In 2023, the 21-year-old Sogndal player scored six goals, four assists, and averaged 6.4 completed dribbles per game.
| Stats | Orjasaeter (2024 Eliteserien) | Maeda (23/24 Premiership) |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 28 | 28 |
| Goals | 5 | 6 |
| Big chances missed | 5 | 12 |
| Assists | 5 | 3 |
| Big chances created | 12 | 5 |
| Dribbles completed per game | 2.4 | 1.1 |
As shown in the table above, the Norwegian U21 international has the potential to give more than Maeda as an offensive force, with more ‘big chances’ produced, more assists,
and a greater percentage of goals to missed ‘big chances’.
Orjasaeter, despite his inexperience, contributes significantly to the club out of possession, with 4.2 ball recoveries per game compared to Maeda’s 2.9 per match last term and 1.9 per game this season.
This shows that the energetic teenager works hard off the ball to assist his team defend, which means he may fit in nicely on Celtic’s left wing – since he is a well-rounded attacker who contributes on both sides of the game.
As a result, Rodgers should press the club to sign the £5 million-rated star in January, who has the potential to be a significant upgrade on Maeda if he can adapt his talents to Scottish football.
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