Celtic’s pursuit of yet another Scottish Premiership title at Parkhead continued this week with another impressive victory. On Tuesday night, the Hoops comfortably defeated Aberdeen 5-1, with Daizen Maeda scoring both the opening and closing goals of the match. Jota, Callum McGregor, and Yang Hyun-jun also found the net in a dominant performance. As a result, Celtic remain a commanding 13 points clear of Rangers at the top of the league, with a trip to St Mirren awaiting them on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, a former Celtic striker, once highly regarded by manager Brendan Rodgers, is struggling to meet expectations at his new club. After a successful two years in Glasgow, which were marked by both goals and trophies, he has now faded into obscurity in the world of football.
Daizen Maeda’s brace on Tuesday brought his total tally for Celtic to 54 goals, with 25 of those coming this season. This exceptional form has led current right-back Alistair Johnston to describe him as “one of the most in-form players in Europe.” Former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart, speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club, believes that Maeda has “stepped up a level” this season and has become “top class.”
With that in mind, it’s worth examining how Maeda compares to some of Celtic’s best centre-forwards from the past decade.
Notable Celtic Strikers (2014-present)
As the table shows, Leigh Griffiths has the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any Celtic striker over the past decade, despite spending the longest time at the club. However, one striker from this list, who had a stellar stint at Celtic before leaving, has not quite lived up to the hype after his departure.
Moussa Dembélé: A Golden Sale for Celtic
Moussa Dembélé, signed on a free transfer from Fulham in 2016 just before his 20th birthday, made an immediate impact at Celtic, becoming Brendan Rodgers’ first signing. The French forward scored vital goals during Champions League qualifiers against Astana and Hapoel Be’er Sheva, and marked his Old Firm debut with a perfect hat-trick in a resounding 5-1 victory, becoming the first Celtic player since 1966 to score a Glasgow derby hat-trick.
Dembélé’s performances in the Champions League group stages were also memorable, as he scored twice against Manchester City and once against Borussia Mönchengladbach. These feats earned him a place among just nine Celtic players since 1978 to score three or more goals in a single European Cup campaign.
Celtic Players with 3+ Goals in a UCL Season (since 1978)
Rodgers praised Dembélé as an “outstanding young talent” with the potential to become “world-class.” Despite interest from bigger clubs and the temptation of higher wages, Dembélé chose to move to a club that could help develop his talent, eventually leaving Celtic after two successful seasons in which he scored 32 goals in his first season and 16 in his second, winning consecutive trebles. He was sold to Olympique Lyonnais for a Scottish record transfer fee of £20m.
At Lyon, Dembélé continued to impress, scoring 70 goals in 172 appearances. His time at the French club included a brief loan to Atlético Madrid, where he won a La Liga title despite limited playing time. Following his contract expiration with Lyon in 2023, Dembélé moved to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, where he played under former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard. Despite his 12 goals in the league last season, Dembélé’s career has taken an unfortunate turn. He is now recovering from surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon, which he suffered earlier this month. This injury will keep him sidelined for about nine months, and at 28, he is at a crossroads in his career. His market value has dropped significantly, from a peak of around £40m to just £7m, further proving Celtic made the right decision to cash in when they did.
Celtic struck gold selling £20m star who Rodgers said was an “outstanding young talent”
