Martin O'Neill does not throw comparisons to Henrik Larsson around lightly. Nobody at Celtic does. The Swedish striker occupies a place so close to sacred that invoking his name demands both credibility and an airtight case. O'Neill, who has both, made the comparison anyway — and few inside Celtic Park would dare argue with him.

When O'Neill described Daizen Maeda's contribution in the final, nerve-shredding weeks of the league season as "absolutely Larssonesque," he was making a mighty claim. But given what the Japanese forward produced, it was hard to find fault.

A farewell goal at Hampden

All signs point to Maeda leaving Celtic this summer, and he could not have scripted a more dramatic exit. His likely final act in a Celtic shirt was a composed, lobbed opener in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park — a ball dropping over a stranded goalkeeper, a defender unable to intervene, and a striker as calm as anyone in the stadium. It was his 17th goal of the season and his ninth in his last seven appearances.

The goal set Celtic on their way, and while it may have been premature to call the final at that moment, Dunfermline were left chasing shadows from there. Celtic claimed the double, and Maeda's place in the story was assured.

From drought to devastating form

What made Maeda's late-season surge so remarkable was what came before it. He went 17 consecutive games without scoring — a spell of relentless running and honest effort that yielded little in front of goal and fuelled speculation that his time at the club was already emotionally over.

Then he turned it on. In the title run-in, his efficiency in front of goal was extraordinary: two goals from three shots against Falkirk, one from one against Hibs, two from two against Rangers, one from one against Motherwell, and one from one against Hearts in the final league match. On cup final day, his first chance found the net. That is not good fortune — that is ruthlessness.

A bargain that redefined value

Maeda arrived at Celtic on loan from Yokohama Marinos in January 2022, aged 24, with two international caps and a reputation as the J-League's leading scorer. Ange Postecoglou championed him from the start. Four minutes into his debut against Hibs, he scored. Celtic exercised their obligation to sign him permanently that summer for around £1.3 million — a transfer that now looks like daylight robbery in the best possible sense.

His numbers across five seasons tell the full story: 13 goal involvements in his first half-season; 18 in 49 in his second; 14 in 36 in his third; 45 in 54 in his fourth; and 28 in his fifth. A natural wide player, he was also pressed into service as a centre-forward after Kyogo Furuhashi departed, filling a void Celtic's recruitment struggled to address in any other way.

The promise, the wait, and the response

Maeda had been promised he could leave last summer. Wolfsburg, in Germany, were reportedly interested. But when Celtic failed to secure adequate replacements, he was told he had to stay.

"I had an offer and had consistently communicated to my club that I wanted to take the next step in my career. Celtic ultimately couldn't secure the necessary reinforcements and told me they couldn't let me go. Personally, I had come to an understanding with the club. I'd been in constant talks," Maeda said.

A player in that position could have disengaged. Instead, when Celtic needed him most — amid a season that had lurched through Brendan Rodgers' exit, the difficult tenure of Wilfried Nancy, and supporter fury directed at the board — Maeda stood tallest.

In the Hampden aftermath, he lifted the Scottish Cup, a scarf draped around his neck, and beamed at the Celtic supporters. If that was his goodbye, it was one he — and they — will not forget.