Fabrizio Romano confirms Celtic star could leave in January

Tom Weber

19 Nov 2025 10:30 CST
3 min read

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Celtic star Daizen Maeda could leave the club in January.

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The Japan international has been one of the standout performers for the Hoops since joining the club on an initial loan back in early 2022. Maeda has notched 66 goals and 30 assists in 175 appearances for Celtic, with six of his goal contributions coming this season.

However, Maeda is 28 now and believes that he is ready to take the next step in his career. The forward is aware that the window to get a move to a top European league is rapidly closing the older he gets.

Current ETV

Daizen Maeda

F (CL)

Celtic

Daizen Maeda

F (CL)

Celtic

ETV Range

€12.2M - €14.9M

Maeda already tried to jump ship in the summer when Premier League club Brentford came calling. He admitted as much in September when he said: "I received an offer. I had been telling the club that I wanted to take the next step, but Celtic hadn’t been able to strengthen their squad properly, so in the end, they told me they couldn’t let me go.

"Personally, I had agreed [to the move], so I wanted to take on the challenge. The national team also delayed my joining, and I really asked Celtic until the last day, but it didn’t happen."

Maeda to leave Celtic in January

In addition to Brentford, a host of other Premier League outfits have been linked with Maeda since his bombshell admission. A recent report claimed that Celtic have reluctantly agreed to sanction a January exit.

Now, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that a winter departure is indeed a concrete possibility. However, Celtic are currently not concerning themselves with the future of Maeda as their full focus is on bringing in a new head coach.

Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy is the favoured option for the vacant position, and it was expected that major progress would be made over the weekend with a deal said to have been virtually agreed. However, the Bhoys have yet to unveil the Frenchman.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Romano said of a potential January exit of Maeda: "It’s a possibility, yes, but let’s wait for the coach stuff to be sorted first."

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