‘Rodgers begging Celtic to reject massive Daizen Maeda bid – don’t take him off me’
Celtic can only sell Daizen Maeda for a “massive” fee this summer as Brendan Rodgers aims to build his team around the Japanese international.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson encouraged Celtic to avoid a significant backlash from their fans and keep Maeda at Parkhead.
Maeda scored 33 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions for the Hoops last term and was by far their most impactful player, leading pundits to anticipate that he will leave Celtic for a “big team” this summer.
However, Robinson has told Football Insider that Maeda is irreplaceable in Rodgers’ squad, and argued that Celtic shouldn’t sell the 27-year-old unless a “massive bid” is made by a top European clubs.
Rodgers already missed out on several of his first-choice signings in the January transfer window, and Robinson urged Celtic decision-makers to keep the Northern Irishman happy by keeping hold of Maeda.
Celtic can’t afford to consider Maeda exit this summer
Celtic have already braced themselves for Nicholas Kuhn to head for pastures new this summer, and Football Insider revealed on 19 May that both Leeds and West Ham are keen on signing Maeda.
Speaking on the latest Inside Track, Robinson maintained that with a Champions League campaign on the horizon, Maeda is the player whom Rodgers wants to build his team around for next season.
“Celtic fans will not want Daizen Maeda to leave”, he told Football Insider.
“You look at the impact he’s had on the team in terms of goals, it would have to be a massive bid for the forward to make Celtic even think about it.
“At 27 years old he’s still got a lot more to give, and with a European campaign next season, you want to build around him for the Champions League.
“Some of the signings that Rodgers wanted didn’t come in during January… from a Celtic supporters’ point of view, you don’t take a player like him off the manager.”
Maeda central to Celtic rebuild with transfers on the cards
No Celtic player has turned heads quite like Maeda this season after his 45 goal contributions in all competitions, but Rodgers will be very reluctant to lose his number 38 as part of a huge squad rebuild.
Rodgers’ frustrations with his squad grew towards the back end of the season despite Celtic breezing to the Premiership title, and Football Insider revealed in April that he plans to “bomb several big names” out of Parkhead.
Demands have been made for highly active transfer window in order to build on an otherwise strong season, and Rodgers’ pleas have been answered by the Celtic board with a sizeable transfer kitty made available.