A rare media treat; Daizen Maeda makes one thing clear about ...

Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda has given a rare interview to club media in Portugal.

The Japanese attacker is part of the Celtic squad being put through their paces by manager Brendan Rodgers. The Hoops are due to face Portuguese side Portimonense this evening although the game will be a very low-key affair.

Maeda may feature in tonight’s game but he only returned to training at the start of this week. He is, however, likely to play a big part in the team’s subsequent trip to Japan next week.

Celtic are scheduled to face Yokohama F. Marinos at the Nissan Stadium on July 19, before facing Gamba Osaka three days later.

Maeda was signed from Marinos and is looking forward to returning home. He also made his competitive intentions clear in what was a rare media treat for the Celtic support.

“I went back to Japan for national team duty,” he explained to Celtic TV.

“But it will be the first time to go back and play some games as a Celtic player. I’m looking forward to it.

“Marinos are a strong team. The team were strong when I was there too. They have been winning the league recently.

“Yeah, I want to beat them.”

Maeda made it clear from his answer that Celtic’s trip to Japan means a lot to him. Like Ange Postecoglou returning to Australia last November, he may feel like he has a lot to prove.

His compatriots Tomoki Iwata, Yuki Kobayashi, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi will also be buzzing to return to their homeland and the quintet should help garner large crowds.

More than anything, they will just be fun games to watch. Fitness and sharpness is the obvious priority but it seems like Maeda and co want to lay down a marker too.

In other news, Furuhashi has been seen back training with Celtic in Portugal

Have something to tell us about this article?