Ipswich Town Sign Daizen Maeda from Celtic

Ipswich Town have made a statement move in their first summer back in the Premier League, prising Japan forward Daizen Maeda from Celtic on a three-year deal worth a reported £10m.

At 28, Maeda arrives in England at the peak of his career, fresh from the 2026 World Cup where he helped Japan into the last 32 before Brazil halted their run. This is the moment he has been chasing.

“I have always dreamed of playing in the Premier League and I am very happy I can realise that dream with this club,” he told Ipswich’s website. The words matched the way he plays: direct, committed, no frills. “My aim will always be to battle hard, score goals, and provide assists for my team – I will always run and give everything that I have.”

For Gary O’Neil, appointed in the summer after Kieran McKenna’s departure, Maeda is both a weapon and a tone‑setter. Ipswich have just hauled themselves back into the top flight by finishing second in the Championship under McKenna; survival now depends on adding players who can live with the Premier League’s pace and punishment.

O’Neil is convinced Maeda fits that brief. “He works extremely hard and has impressive physical attributes, while also proving over a number of years playing in Scotland that he has the ability to score goals and create for his team,” the Ipswich manager said.

A Celtic success story

Maeda does not arrive as a prospect. He comes as a proven winner.

In Glasgow, he scored 79 goals in 212 appearances and stacked up medals at a ruthless rate: five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups. When he first landed at Celtic in late December 2022, on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos in the early days of Ange Postecoglou’s reign, he was a relatively unknown J-League forward. He left as a fixture of a dominant era.

His game was built on ferocious running and an appetite for work that never seemed to dip, but the 2025‑26 season elevated him from cult favourite to decisive figure. Celtic failed to adequately replace Kyogo Furuhashi through the middle, so Maeda was asked to lead the line for almost the entire campaign.

It did not click straight away. He endured a bleak spell of one goal in 18 games, Celtic slipped to second, and Hearts moved clear at the top. The pressure grew. So did the scrutiny.

Then the switch flipped.

Maeda exploded back into form, rattling in seven goals in five Premiership matches, two of them match-winners, dragging Celtic back into the title race almost by force of will. The run culminated in a final-day decider at Celtic Park against Hearts, the kind of afternoon that defines careers.

With the score locked at 1-1 and the clock ticking towards full-time, Maeda found the moment. On 87 minutes he drove his shot beyond Alexander Schwolow, a finish that detonated around the stadium and effectively sealed the title. That second goal will live long in Celtic folklore.

He still had one more parting gift. In his final appearance for the club, Maeda opened the scoring in a comfortable Scottish Cup final win over Dunfermline Athletic, signing off with another trophy and another goal on the biggest stage.

A fond farewell from Glasgow

Leaving a club where you have become a symbol of intensity and resilience is never simple, and Maeda’s goodbye underlined what Celtic had come to mean to him.

In a message to the “Celtic family” on social media, he called the last four and a half years “the most special chapter” of his career and his life. “It has been an incredible honour to wear this badge, to play for this amazing club, and to share so many unforgettable moments with my teammates, the staff, and the best supporters in the world. Thank you for standing by me through every high and low.”

Celtic’s response carried the same warmth. The club hailed his “relentless energy and vital goals” and acknowledged that he had become a firm favourite with supporters. “As he heads on to pastures new at Ipswich Town, everyone at Celtic thanks Daizen for his contribution to the club over the past few years and we wish him all the best for the future,” read their statement.

Ipswich’s new edge

For Ipswich, this is not a vanity signing. It is part of a clear, aggressive build aimed at giving O’Neil a squad with depth and bite.

Maeda joins a list of new arrivals that already includes defender Issa Diop, winger Abdul Fatawu, striker Emersonn and goalkeeper Kayne van Oevelen. Cedric Kipre and Chuba Akpom have also signed permanently after successful loan spells last season, keeping some of the core that powered promotion while raising the overall level.

Maeda’s profile knits that plan together. He offers goals, yes, but also relentless pressing, versatility across the front line and a work rate that can set the standard for a newly promoted side that will spend long spells without the ball.

Ipswich have their dreamer, a World Cup forward with medals in his luggage and miles in his legs. The Premier League now gets to find out if his trademark sprint, honed in Glasgow and Japan, can carry the Tractor Boys clear of trouble and into something more ambitious.