One of the most interesting situations surrounding Celtic right now is that of Daizen Maeda. The Japanese star arrived at Parkhead in the summer from Yokohama F. Marinos and with Kyogo out of action due to injury, he looks like the perfect forward to play up top in Ange Postecoglou’s side. He has been away on international duty with the Japan national team though, missing the last couple of games.

There have been question marks over his availability for the Glasgow Derby against the Rangers as a result, especially with him coming on for Japan as a substitute in their game against Saudi Arabia in the 68th minute.

There seems to be good news on the Maeda front for Celtic though as Postecoglou has not ruled him out for the game against the Rangers.

As reported by Sky Sports, while speaking about Maeda, the Celtic manager said:

“He only played 20 minutes. He arrives tomorrow morning, I will have a chat to him then to see how he feels.

“He won’t be starting, but he could come off the bench. There is a chance he will be included.”

Celtic handed Maeda boost ahead of Glasgow Derby

It looks like Maeda could very well feature against the Rangers. While Postecoglou is known for keeping his cards close to his chest and cropping up with surprises from time to time, he has not made any secret about the matter this time around.

Even having Maeda on the bench would be a huge boost for Celtic, who are missing a player like him in the absence of Kyogo.

Giorgos Giakoumakis has led the line for Celtic in the past few games and to be honest, he has looked much better following the winter break and has found the back of the net a couple of times as well. But one has to admit that the Hoops look like a much better side when they have a more mobile and active forward in Postecoglou’s system. Now, it remains to be seen if they have Maeda on the bench against the Rangers.