Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has admitted a growing sense of resignation over the likely departures of Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels this summer transfer window.
Maeda, who has spent four-and-a-half years in Glasgow, is in the final year of his contract and is pushing hard for a move to the Premier League following a failed switch to Wolfsburg last year.
O’Neill has been candid about his personal wish for Maeda to see out the remainder of his deal, even while acknowledging that outcome may be beyond his control.
He said: “Personally speaking, I would love it if he just let his contract run through. And played for the last year. Honestly, it would be super.”
The Celtic boss drew a comparison to club legend Henrik Larsson, who informed O’Neill a year in advance that his final season would be his last before departing the club.
O’Neill added: “Henrik Larsson told me a year before that that was going to be his last year. Now, his contract was out at that stage and he was fantastic for us in the final season.”
The manager made clear that any reluctance to sell Maeda is not financially motivated, stressing instead that it is a personal desire to keep the popular forward at Parkhead.
He said: “It’s not one of those where he’s got a year left to run and we want to try and make something of it in the sense of getting money. It’s not that at all.”
Celtic also rebuffed a reported £25 million bid from Nottingham Forest for midfielder Arne Engels on winter deadline day, with O’Neill warning that late-window bids create significant difficulties for the club.
He said: “If, for instance, all those bids that Nottingham Forest made come in on the 11th hour. That was just a non-goer for us at that particular stage.”
O’Neill also confirmed that Japanese playmaker Reo Hatate, 28, is exploring his options and could be among those to leave Celtic Park before the transfer window closes.
He said: “I think that Reo has done exceptionally well at the football club since he arrived. People have said he might even have been the best player in Scotland two or three years ago.”
Despite his affection for the player, O’Neill acknowledged Hatate’s desire to seek new pastures, saying he would be disappointed to lose him but could not fault his contribution to the club.
He added: “If he left the football club, I would be obviously disappointed, but he couldn’t have done any more for us. He really couldn’t have done any more.”
Sweden World Cup star Benjamin Nygren, who scored 21 goals in his debut season at Parkhead, is also attracting transfer interest, with O’Neill refusing to rule out a potential exit for the goalscoring midfielder.
The manager said of Nygren: “Yeah, his stats are very, very high, absolutely. So there’s every possibility that something could happen there.”
With four key players potentially heading for the exit door, O’Neill faces a challenging summer as he attempts to retain his strongest squad while acknowledging the realities of modern football transfers.
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