Daizen Maeda: I can't wait to score in front of 60,000 at Celtic Park

Daizen Maeda “can’t wait” to show Celtic fans what he can do now it has been confirmed that full crowds are allowed to return to Scottish football.

The Japanese forward, who finished top scorer of the J League last season, signed for the Hoops on the first day of the January transfer window along with fellow countrymen Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate.

And the 24-year-old says he is excited to play at a full Celtic Park, starting with Hibs on Monday, after it was revealed that restrictions on crowd numbers would be lifted.

Just before the winter break the Scottish Government announced that no game could have anymore than 500 supporters due to the rise of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron.

The SPFL decided to bring the break, that was initially due to begin on January 2, forward to December 26 in the hope that fans would be able to return.

And they were proved right to do so on Tuesday when the First Minister revealed that the restrictions would be lifted.

And Maeda, who could make his Celtic debut against the Edinburgh side, welcomed the news with open arms.

He said: “Now that I have heard that it is going to be a full stadium I am so excited and want to do really well and score if I can.

“My style of playing is to put a lot of energy into the game and I can’t wait to show that to the fans.”

And the forward, who can play anywhere across the front three, is also looking forward to linking up with Kyogo Furuhashi, who has become an instant fan favourite in Glasgow since his arrival last summer.

Maeda said: “Both of us have similar speed and I am thinking we can apply pressure to the opposing team.

“So at the moment I am looking forward to playing with Kyogo, but also the rest of my teammates.”