The Celtic fans know full well just how hard Daizen Maeda works for the team. His efforts for Brendan Rodgers’ side in the Scottish Premiership have been well-documented by TBR Celtic.
The Japanese winger has received many plaudits for his performances from the media and opposition managers but it’s not just his defensive work that has been impressive.
Maeda is a flying machine. Described as ‘electric‘ after his performance against Hearts, the Japan international has made it into UEFA’s Top 5 for the quickest players in Europe. [UEFA]
Just how fast is Celtic’s Daizen Maeda?
Well, from watching him every week for Celtic I can tell you that I genuinely don’t think I’ve seen anyone within the SPFL outrun or even match his pace.
But in terms of Europe, only Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund (36.3km/h), Marcus Rashford of Manchester United (35.7 km/h) and Lois Openda of RB Leipzig (35.7km/h) are quicker.
Maeda’s top speed comes in at a spritely 35.6 km/h which is faster than Kylian Mbappe (35.3km/h), Vinicius Junior (34.7km/h), Raphinha (34.6km/h) and Erling Haaland (34.3km/h).
Quite an astounding stat when you think about it. All of the players Maeda is ahead of are worth tens of millions of pounds. Just think what he could be worth if he improved his final ball and was more clinical in front of goal.
Now that’s a scary thought.
The Japanese winger has was crucial in helping to deliver success in Ange Postecoglou’s first season at the club. A goal on his debut against Hibernian helped him settle quickly into Scottish football and he hasn’t looked back since.
The versatile winger has scored 21 goals and created 15 assists in just 84 appearances for Celtic and now that he has signed a new long-term deal, the Celtic supporters can look forward to watching add to that for at least the next four years.
In other news, ‘Exquisite’: 22-year-old Celtic player now labelled the ‘best player in Scotland’ after Atletico game