Celtic supporters have certainly been treated to a fair few top-class strikers down the years.
Henrik Larsson, simply known as the King of Kings, is widely considered to be Celtic’s best player of the modern era, scoring 242 goals in 315 appearances for the club across seven seasons.
Since his departure for Barcelona in 2004, plenty of Celtic strikers have been labelled ‘the best since Larsson’, but does this tag now belong to a current member of the squad?
The player in good question might just be their best since Odsonne Édouard was donning green and white.
How good was Odsonne Édouard at Celtic
Édouard, one of the many recipients of the ‘best since Larsson’ label, his given to him by former manager Martin O’Neill, certainly made a big impact at Parkhead.
The Frenchman arrived from Paris Saint-Germain, initially on loan in 2017, before his performances on the park convinced the club to make the move permanent for a then-club-record fee of £9m.
In total, Édouard scored 87 goals in 179 appearances for the Hoops, thereby on target every 140 minutes on average, before he was eventually sold to Crystal Palace at a profit, for £14m to be precise in August 2021.
It’s safe to say he was a phenomenal signing, winning the treble three times and picking up the club’s Player of the Season gong in 2019/20.
However, in terms of the value-for-money stakes, Édouard has certainly been eclipsed by Celtic’s current leading marksman.
Celtic's best signing since Odsonne Edouard
Daizen Maeda joined Celtic from Yokohama F. Marinos for a reported fee of £1.4m in January 2022, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impression, scoring less than four minutes into his debut against Hibs.
Subsequently, the Japanese forward has taken his tally to 57 goals for the Hoops, a humongous 28 of which have come this season, hence why former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart believes he has “stepped up a level” in recent months.
Meantime, John McGinley of the Celtic Way labels him a ‘superstar’, while right-back Alistair Johnston described him as “one of the most in-form players in Europe”.
Given Maeda’s scoring spree, it’s got us wondering, what’s the most goals a Celtic player has scored in a single season post-Larsson? Let’s find out.
Daizen Maeda
2024/25
28*
Kyōgo Furuhashi
2022/23
34
Odsonne Édouard
2019/20
29**
Scott Sinclair
2016/17
25
Moussa Dembélé
2016/17
32
Leigh Griffiths
2015/16
40
Kris Commons
2013/14
32
Gary Hooper
2012/13
31
Gary Hooper
2011/12
29
Scott McDonald
2007/08
31
As the table outlines, since Henrik Larsson’s 41-goal haul in 2003/04, only Leigh Griffiths has reached 40 goals in a single season for Celtic, leaving Maeda with only up to ten more matches to equal this record, requiring 12 goals, which certainly isn’t out of the question at all, is it?
The Japanese forward does already have one record secured, becoming the first Celtic player to score four times in a single European Cup or Champions League campaign since Joe Craig in 1977/78.
According to Transfermarkt, Maeda’s valuation is at its highest point, thereby valued at around £9.2m.
Meantime, with speculation swirling surrounding his future, Michael Gannon of the Daily Record labels the striker ‘priceless’, while TEAMtalk believes Celtic would only sell for a ‘sizable fee’.
Thus, as alluded to earlier, having cost just £1.6m and now, unquestionably Celtic’s ‘best player’, Maeda must also be right up there as the club’s best value-for-money signing.
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