After four and a half years, 212 appearances and 79 goals, Daizen Maeda has said his farewells – and Celtic have a significant hole to fill.
Ipswich Town have completed the signing of Daizen Maeda from Celtic on a three-year contract until 2029, with the reported fee in the region of £10m, as confirmed by BBC Sport. The 28-year-old forward joins the newly promoted Premier League side following Japan’s elimination at the last 32 of the 2026 World Cup, where he scored in the group stage draw with Sweden before Brazil ended their tournament.
Maeda arrived at Celtic in late December 2022, initially on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos, before making the move permanent the following summer. He came as a relative unknown from the J-League and left as one of the most important players of the Ange Postecoglou era and beyond. Five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups across 212 appearances – that is a career at Celtic any player would be proud of.
THE MOMENT THAT DEFINED HIS CELTIC STORY
Let’s be honest – the 2025-26 season is when Maeda truly etched himself into Celtic folklore. With the club failing to adequately replace Kyogo Furuhashi through the middle, he stepped up and shouldered the burden almost single-handedly. After a barren run of one goal in 18 games with Hearts leading the table, what followed was extraordinary.
Seven goals in five Premiership matches. Then the 87th-minute winner against Hearts on the final day, a moment that Celtic Park will not forget quickly. He opened the scoring in the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic to round off his Celtic career in fitting style. That is the measure of the man.
A Celtic statement described his relentless energy and vital goals as an essential part of the team, wishing him well as he heads to Portman Road. Maeda himself posted a heartfelt goodbye to the Celtic family, calling the last four and a half years the most special chapter of his career and his life.
WHAT CELTIC MUST DO NOW
The departure follows other recent exits – – and underlines the scale of the rebuild underway this summer. You can track the full picture of ins and outs on our completed Celtic transfers page.
The question now is whether the club moves quickly and decisively to bring in a replacement who can provide that combination of pressing, pace and end product – or whether we head into pre-season hoping existing options fill the void. Given how central he became last season, that answer needs to come soon.
Godspeed, Daizen. You gave us everything. Mon The Hoops.
