Daenen Maeda’s troubles at Parkhead continued after he failed to score or assist in Celtic’s game against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal was enough for Martin O’Neill’s side to claim three points in Glasgow, but the Japanese forward once again struggled at the top end of the pitch.
The Japan international has not scored for Celtic since the 4-0 win over Dundee United at Parkhead on January 10, nor has he provided an assist since the 2-2 draw with Bologna in the Europa League on January 22.
He has whiffed in the final third in each of his last 15 games, failing to register a goal or assist and failing to even register a shot against St Mirren.
Maeda played the full 90 minutes against the Saints over the weekend, finishing with one key pass, zero shot attempts and zero dribbles.
What should Celtic do with Daenen Maeda this summer?
The 28-year-old attacker’s current contract with Parkhead is due to expire at the end of next season, but he has not performed well enough on the pitch to suggest the club should reward him with an extension.
25/26 Biggest chance missed in the Premiership | |
|---|---|
player | missed a big opportunity |
Daizen Maeda | twenty two |
Yusef Chelmiti | 15 |
thank you very much. | 14 |
claudio braga | 13 |
Martin Boyle | 11 |
In the 2025/26 Premiership season, Maeda scored 7 goals for the Hoops from 12.48 xG and missed 22 ‘big chances’, the biggest xG underperformance in the division.
Bearing in mind his poor finishing throughout the season and lack of performance in the final third since January, Celtic will have to make a decision to sign the Japanese forward when the summer transfer window opens.
His performances in the Premiership this season, particularly as a finisher, have not been up to par and his contract situation means this summer is the perfect time to move on from him.
Maeda should be sold in the summer, but Celtic have another active player who did worse than him and shouldn’t be close to starting again.
Worse than Maeda: Celtic’s biggest underachiever should not start again
Despite not performing well in the final third, Maeda still provides value with his work rate and pressing on defense, meaning he could still be a valuable starter in the short term before leaving in the summer.
However, Tomas Kvankala has not performed well in the final third or in the Hoops in general, and will likely not be close to the starting line-up this season.
The Czech international is fast becoming Parkhead’s new Albian Ajeti. Celtic signed the Swiss striker for £5 million in 2020, but he scored an impressive nine goals in 48 games before leaving the club.
Like Ajeti, Kvankala also dominated in front of the Scottish giants’ goal. The player, on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach, scored just two goals in 13 appearances for the club, one of which came from the penalty spot.
The 25-year-old attacker has not scored an open play goal in his last 11 appearances since scoring his only open play goal against Falkirk in February.
Despite his Ajeti-like struggles in front of goal, Kvankala, who was chosen by O’Neill to lead the backline against St Mirren on Saturday, was even worse than Maeda.
vs St Mirren | Maeda | Kvankara |
|---|---|---|
minutes | 90 | 62 |
missed a big opportunity | 0 | 1 |
key pass | 1 | 0 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 1 | 0 |
Pass accuracy | 76% | 50% |
progressive carry | 6 | 0 |
The Czech international completed only five of his 10 pass attempts, failing to create any chances for his teammates, and also missing out on “big chances” to find the back of the net.
Despite Maeda’s struggles, he was quite reliable as a passer and created “big chances” for his team, showing he wasn’t completely incompetent.
Kvankala failed to produce an even bigger performance for the Hoops on this day, and his overall form since signing with the club in January does not suggest that his performances will improve any time soon.
That’s why O’Neill shouldn’t keep him anywhere near the starting lineup this season, before sending new signing Ajeti back to Gladbach in the summer.
Celtic are already working on signing replacements for star players who may have played their ‘last game’
This may well be the last time he wears green and white.
