Daizen Maeda added another two goals to his tally in Celtic’s 3-0 win at Parkhead in their Scottish Premiership clash last weekend.
The Japan international has now racked up 30 goals and nine assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops so far this season, as he has proven himself to be a reliable figure in front of goal for Brendan Rodgers.
TEAMtalk recently reported that teams from Italy and Germany, as well as elsewhere across Europe, have taken an interest in the Japanese forward ahead of the summer transfer window.
The outlet did not name any of the interested clubs but did reveal that it would take significantly more than £10m to prise him away from Parkhead, which could result in him being one of the most expensive sales in Celtic’s history if he moves on later this year.
As you can see in the graphic above, an exit for more than £10m would place him among the top ten biggest sales in club history, alongside the likes of Jota, Virgil van Dijk, and Jeremie Frimpong.
Of those ten sales, Celtic may rue not being able to cash in on van Dijk for even more money than the £13m they did get from Southampton for him, given what the centre-back has gone on to achieve.
Virgil van Dijk's soaring market value since leaving Celtic
The Netherlands international joined the club from Groningen in the summer of 2013 and went on to score 15 goals in 115 first-team appearances for the Hoops across two seasons in Glasgow.
Van Dijk’s form at the heart of the Celtic defence earned him a £13m move to Premier League side Southampton in the summer of 2015, and that was a significant profit on the £2.6m that they had paid Groningen for his services.
However, it was the Saints who ended up landing the biggest profit of the Dutchman’s career as they went on to sell him to Liverpool for a reported world-record fee – for a defender – of £75m in January 2018.
This meant that Southampton made a mind-boggling profit of £62m on the central defender, compared to the £10.4m profit that Celtic made on him after two years in Glasgow.
As you can see in the clips above, Van Dijk has gone on to become a terrific defender for Liverpool over the years, racking up 311 appearances in all competitions and winning a Premier League and a Champions League trophy.
Celtic may, now, look back on their deal to sell the Dutch colossus to Southampton and wonder if they could have held out for more money, given the incredible value that he went on to accrue.
Several years after van Dijk’s departure from Parkhead, the Hoops had a centre-back on their hands who was tipped to be the club’s next version of the Liverpool superstar.
Celtic star who was tipped to be the next Virgil van Dijk
The Scottish giants had signed Leo Hjelde from Rosenborg’s academy at U18 level in the summer of 2019 and the young defender came up through the ranks before eventually getting his senior breakthrough on loan at Ross County in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.
In those five months, the Norwegian central defender, who was born in Nottingham, started ten of his 11 appearances for the club at the age of just 17.
Appearances
11
Starts
10
Interceptions per game
1.8
Tackles per game
1.7
Clearances per game
3.3
Ground duel success rate
51%
Aerial duel success rate
38%
As you can see in the table above, Hjelde got stuck in during his time at Ross County, making plenty of tackles, clearances, and interceptions each match, although – as expected at the age of 17 – he did struggle a bit with his physical duels.
Ross County manager John Hughes saw enough from the Norway youth international to compare him to Virgil van Dijk, adding that he hoped that the defender would go on to be a regular at Parkhead.
He told the Press and Journal: “One hundred percent, Leo is going to be the next Van Dijk. Trust me on that. I would love to see him make his debut for Celtic and become a regular. I would love nothing more to see him running out there.”
These quotes, and his form in the Premiership at such a young age, suggested that Hjelde had a bright future in Glasgow, but that is not how it worked out.
What happened to Leo Hjelde
Instead of getting a chance in the first-team under Ange Postecoglou, who arrived at Celtic in the same summer that the centre-back returned from his loan spell, the defender was sold.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
Towards the end of August in the summer transfer window, Hjelde was sold to Premier League side Leeds United for a reported fee of £1m, without making a single first-team appearance for Celtic during his two years at the club.
Postecoglou brought Cameron Carter-Vickers, who remains a key first-team figure to date, in on loan from Tottenham Hotspur and signed Carl Starfelt on a permanent deal from Rubin Kazan, which made Hjelde’s task of breaking into the senior side all the more difficult.
Unfortunately, though, the 21-year-old defender has not had much more luck elsewhere in his career. He only played eight first-team matches for Leeds before his permanent move to Sunderland in January 2024.
Appearances
12
10
Starts
11
2
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.9
0.9
Clearances per game
2.6
1.2
Ground duel success rate
51%
43%
Aerial duel success rate
57%
63%
As you can see in the table above, Hjelde seemed to hit the ground running as a regular starter in the second half of last season, only to lose his place in the side in the current campaign.
The 21-year-old, who can play at centre-back or left-back, has been an unused substitute for 25 Championship games under Regis Le Bris, which suggests that he has not done enough to impress the manager to earn more minutes on the pitch.
At his young age, there is still plenty of time left for Hjelde to turn his career around, whether that is at Sunderland or elsewhere, to deliver on the early promise he showed to earn a comparison to Van Dijk at the age of 17.
However, at this moment in time, Postecoglou’s decision to allow the promising young centre-back to move on from Celtic for £1m appears to have been a fair decision, as the Norwegian youngster is yet to prove the Australian manager wrong by fulfilling his potential.
Celtic ace left for £600k, now he's similar to a future Ballon d'Or winner
The player Celtic lost for just £600k is now similar to a star who has been tipped to win the Ballon d’Or.
ByDan EmeryApr 1, 2025