Ipswich Town Signs Daizen Maeda from Celtic

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

At 28, Maeda arrives at Portman Road with medals, miles in his legs and a reputation forged in Glasgow and on the world stage. He was part of Japan’s squad at the 2026 World Cup, helping them into the last 32 before Brazil ended their run, and he leaves Celtic with a haul that underlines his impact: 79 goals in 212 games, five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups.

For Maeda, this is the dream move.

"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 conversations with Ipswich, he said, made him feel “very welcome”, and he laid out a simple mission: battle hard, score goals, provide assists, and run himself into the ground for the team.

Gary O’Neil, appointed in the summer after Kieran McKenna’s departure, clearly sees him as a cornerstone of Ipswich’s survival and ambition. The manager talked up Maeda’s work-rate and physical edge, but also pointed to a proven end product from his years in Scotland. In a squad being rebuilt for the top flight, Maeda is expected to be more than just another runner.

Ipswich, promoted after finishing second in the Championship under McKenna last season, have been busy. Maeda joins defender Issa Diop, winger Abdul Fatawu, striker Emersonn and goalkeeper Kayne van Oevelen among the new arrivals. Cedric Kipre and Chuba Akpom, both influential on loan last season, have been tied down permanently. There is a clear pattern: athletic, front-foot players, with Maeda the embodiment of that approach.

For Celtic, this is the end of a remarkable journey that began in relative quiet. When Maeda arrived from Yokohama F Marinos in late December 2022, initially on loan in the early days of the Ange Postecoglou era, he was a hard-running J-League forward, not an obvious future talisman. He became far more than that.

His pace and relentless pressing made him a manager’s dream and a defender’s nightmare, but it was the 2025-26 campaign that etched his name into club folklore. After Celtic failed to adequately replace Kyogo Furuhashi through the middle, Maeda was asked to lead the line for almost the entire season. It did not click straight away.

He endured a brutal spell: one goal in 18 games, Celtic slipping to second, chasing Hearts in the title race. Questions grew. So did the pressure.

Then everything flipped.

Maeda exploded with seven goals in five Premiership matches, two of them decisive winners, dragging Celtic back into control of the title race. The defining moment came on the final day, at a tense Celtic Park, with Hearts level at 1-1 and the title on a knife-edge. On 87 minutes, Maeda burst through and drove his finish beyond Alexander Schwolow, a goal that detonated the stadium and effectively sealed the championship. That strike will live in Celtic memory for years.

He signed off in fitting fashion too. In his final appearance for the club, he opened the scoring in a comfortable Scottish Cup final win over Dunfermline Athletic, setting the tone for another piece of silverware.

Maeda’s farewell message to the “Celtic family” captured the depth of his bond with the club, describing the last four and a half years as the most special chapter of his career and life, and thanking teammates, staff and supporters for standing by him through every high and low. Celtic, in turn, called out his “relentless energy and vital goals” and recognised him as a firm fans’ favourite, wishing him well as he moves on to Ipswich.

Many in Glasgow will feel a pang watching him go, but also a sense that he has earned this step. For Ipswich, a club back in the glare of the Premier League and eager to prove they belong, Maeda arrives with a simple question hanging over him: can that same relentless energy and knack for decisive moments now tilt tight games in English football’s most unforgiving league?