‘We need him’: Peter Grant pinpoints one Celtic player he believes will be crucial for title run in

Celtic seem to now have a number of players who are starting to find a bit of form at the most crucial part of the season.

Kyogo Furuhashi is now back amongst the goals and Nicolas Kuhn is now showing exactly why Brendan Rodgers spent £3m on him in January.

Both players are starting to link up well and the duo put in brilliant individual performances against St Johnstone that sent Celtic back to the top of the league on Saturday.

But it was Daizen Maeda who had Peter Grant all giddy as the former Celtic hero claimed that the Japanese winger is the one player he believes will be vital in Rodgers’ pursuit of the league title.

Daizen Maeda netted a hattrick on his 100th appearance for Celtic last weekend and Grant was still speaking about it prior to the St Johnstone win on Saturday.
Grant said [Celtic TV], “He’s got to maintain the things that we always see, his work ethic.

“And I thought last week, and especially the first half was the closest we’ve seen to the old Daizen.

“I just thought he went and closed the goalkeeper down, closed the back guys down and then that just seems to kick on the rest of his game.
We were delighted for him. He could have had four. He smashes one off the bar and then he’ll cross one behind the goals. And that sums him up really.

“And I don’t think it’s due to the lack of talent. You can see he works at it. He is trying to get better. He knows what his weaknesses are and he tries to better those.

“But as I said last week, since he came back from his injury, it was the best I’ve seen from him all round and hopefully he can maintain that because it’s coming up to a really important time for Celtic as we do this run in.

“And we need him to be at his best because he gives you something that sparks not just him, but the team and the rest of the supporters as well.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve said this over the past two seasons but Maeda really has been crucial to Celtic since his December 2021 move.

His defensive work is just as important as his attacking prowess and when he is in the mood like he was against Livingston, he can be unplayable.

But there are obvious areas where Maeda needs to improve. We all know his crossing is, at times, suspect and that his finishing can leave a lot to be desired.
However, one thing is certain. Celtic are a much better team with him in it and he will most definitely play his own part in the pursuit of the title this season.
GET MORE NEWS ON CELTIC FROM SPORTNET247.CO.UK