Celtic have enjoyed a sublime start to the Scottish Premiership season with a perfect record of four wins from four matches under Brendan Rodgers.
The Hoops have secured wins over Kilmarnock, Hibernian, St Mirren, and Rangers, along with a win over Hibs in the League Cup last month.
Kasper Schmeichel has kept four clean sheets in his four appearances in the division, having replaced Joe Hart over the summer, having arrived from Anderlecht.
One of Celtic’s existing stars has also enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2024/25 campaign, as Daizen Maeda has hit the ground running on the flank.
Daizen Maeda’s start to the season
The Japan international has racked up three goals and two assists in four appearances in all competitions so far this season for the Scottish giants.
Two of those three strikes came whilst playing as a centre-forward against Hibernian in the League Cup, whilst the other one was a tidy finish in the 3-0 win over Rangers in the first Old Firm clash of the campaign earlier this month.
The 26-year-old star’s sublime campaign so far for Celtic comes off the back of his return of ten goals and four assists in 36 outings in the 2023/24 campaign.
Daizen Maeda | 23/24 Premiership | 23/24 Champions League |
|---|---|---|
Appearances | 28 | 4 |
Goals | 6 | 0 |
Assists | 3 | 1 |
Key passes per game | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Dribbles completed per game | 1.1 | 2.0 |
Dribble success rate | 47% | 47% |
As you can see in the table above, Maeda produced six goals and three assists in 28 Premiership matches last term, which shows that he did not provide quality in the final third on a regular basis.
The Hoops may want to provide him with competition for his place, to ensure that he maintains his current level and does not become complacent, and Rodgers may have his next Maeda already at the club.
Meet Celtic’s next Daizen Maeda
18-year-old winger Thomas Hatton, who can play on the left or the right flank, has made great progress with Celtic over the past 12 months or so.
Despite being 17 for the vast majority of the 2023/24 campaign, the teenage starlet made eight appearances in the Lowland League for Celtic B, and contributed with one goal and one assist.
He caught Rodgers’ eye and was given a chance to impress in pre-season this summer, with a second-half appearance against Queen’s Park, as well as being on the bench against Ayr.
67HailHail noted that Hatton was one of the ‘impressive’ academy stars who came in and looked at home within the tactical set-up, thanks to his energy and technical qualities.
This suggests that there is a pathway to the first-team for the 18-year-old gem, as he has already shown Rodgers that he can step in and play with the senior squad, albeit in pre-season.
Hatton has also, like Maeda, enjoyed a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign with a return of three goals in seven Lowland League outings for Celtic B.
It is now down to the Scottish forward to continue that form and prove to the manager that he has what it takes to play competitive first-team football for Celtic as a goalscoring left winger, just like the Japan international.
At the age of 18, there is plenty of time left for Hatton to develop and improve to the point where he can be considered a viable alternative, or even upgrade, to Maeda on the left flank.
