Daize Maeda has been a revelation since joining Celtic in 2022.

Bought by Ange Postecoglou, the Celtic winger blew Scottish football and the Hoops support away as Maeda showed tremendous energy levels that have not been seen in the SPFL for years, if at all.

This season, Celtic fans have seen a different side to Maeda’s game as he turns into a prolific striker at Parkhead with 33 goals to his game.

But it was what Maeda’s Celtic teammates told Stephen Robinson about him in training that has left the St Mirren boss left in awe.

Daizen Maeda ‘doesn’t breathe’ in training at Celtic
Maeda enjoys the respect of his teammates for what he does on the pitch but listening to what Stephen Robinson has been told about the Celtic striker, the Japan star has also earned that on the training pitch.

Robinson said on PLZ Soccer, “I’d love to have him. When he’s next to me during the game, I’m like, you must be tired, come on, it’s time to come off.

“But then they bring Kuhn on instead and I’m like, ‘Oh no, here we go’. But no, he must be an absolute dream.

“I spoke to a couple of Celtic players who had done a morning session with him and they said like, he just keeps running, he doesn’t breathe, he doesn’t say a lot, he just smiles.

I think he’s just your dream play

Daizen Maeda’s phenomenal season at Celtic
Maeda has been in blistering form at Celtic this season producing incredible performances not only domestically, but also on the continent in the Champions League.

And as Celtic nears another treble, Maeda has been at the heart of that success as his numbers now prove.

Daizen Maeda stats
Played     Goals        Assists
Champions League          9             4                 1
Scottish Premiership      30           16                7
Scottish Cup                     4             7                  0
Scottish League Cup       3             6                  1
2025/25 Session Total   46           33                9

With five Scottish Premiership fixtures left and a Scottish Cup final to play, it would take a brave person to bet against Maeda adding to this impressive goal tally.

One of the things that divided opinion on Daizen Maeda in his previous seasons at Celtic was you just never know what to expect from him. He could be capable of brilliance and also mistakes so bad that is was almost comical.

Not now. Play him on the wing, he’s getting his crosses in, he’s getting his goals coming in at the back post. Play him through the middle and the goalscoring is relentless, with the 40 goals Leigh Griffiths netted in 2015/16 season now very much in Daizen’s sights. Daizen’s game has improved dramatically under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers and his coaching staff.