Chris Sutton rates Celtic star 'steal of century' in Didier Agathe comparison

Chris Sutton has compared Daizen Maeda to his former Celtic team-mate Didier Agathe as he described the Japanese forward as the "steal of the century".

Celtic's Daizen Maeda skips past Jamie Brandon during the 3-0 win over Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou signed Maeda for around £1million in the summer of 2022 on the back of successful five-month loan spell from Yokohama F.Marinos. The 25-year-old has scored 20 goals in 79 appearances for the Hoops but his value to the team is measured more in his relentless work-rate both in and out of possession.

Current boss Brendan Rodgers hailed his performance in the 3-0 win over Livingston on Saturday which saw Celtic overcome a first-half red card for goalkeeper Joe Hart with Maeda capping a superb individual display with a stunning goal to round off the victory in injury-time.

"When you have Daizen Maeda, it is not like playing with ten men," Rodgers said. “He does the running of two men, he is absolutely incredible and I was so happy for him that he got his goal. He was so good on the day for us."

Sutton, who spent six years at Celtic during his playing career, reckons Maeda is a modern-day version of Agathe, the Frenchman signed from Hibs for £50,000 in 2000 and who went on to become a hugely important figure in the Martin O'Neill side that won a treble and reached the final of the UEFA Cup.

Sutton told the Daily Record: “A lot of people will point to the £50,000 it cost to sign Didier Agathe being an incredible bit of business. But to land Maeda for just over a million looks like the steal of the century. He’s about three or four signings rolled into one. What a bit of business.

“I get the Agathe comparisons because sometimes the final ball is not quite there. But, like him, you simply cannot fault his phenomenal output and his worth to the team.

“Maeda’s team mates must love him – but opposition players will hate him. I know he was linked with a move to Tottenham, but I’m not sure how strong that interest was. There’s no doubt he would be a welcome addition to most sides. And obviously Ange Postecoglou knew what he was going to get when he brought him in.

“If you had 10 Maedas in the team you wouldn’t go wrong. He must be a total nightmare for defenders. He literally never stops. He was relentless for 90 odd minutes at Livingston and still had the power and pace to beat his man for his goal after giving him a head start.”