Speaking to Celtic TV from the club’s training ground at Lennoxtown, Daizen Maeda said: “I know the manager from before so I’m really looking forward to it. He’s always playing attacking football so I’m looking forward to playing that style of football again with him.

“My strength is my speed so I would like to use my speed to attack opponents, and try to get as many goals as possible.

'All the Japanese players will try to play together and to be successful with Celtic, so we will work hard to try and get the title this season.'

The Japanese interest in Celtic pre-dates Kyogo’s arrival in the summer, with Shunsuke Nakamura having performed so impressively for the Hoops, making 166 appearances and scoring 33 goals during the four years he was at the club between 2005 and ’09.

And Celtic’s triple signing has generated lots of excitement amongst fans in Japan.

“Because of how well Kyogo Furuhashi is doing, and also in the past when Shunsuke Nakamura played for Celtic, there is a lot of interest in Japan,” said Daizen, “and I hope there will be more Celtic supporters in Japan now.

'Kyogo has been playing really well and I think I’ll have to do even better to be successful, so I will try my best.'

“When I met him with the international team, I asked him about Celtic and he was telling me lots of good things about it, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Daizen will join Celtic initially on loan but with a compulsory purchase clause included, meaning he will be with Celtic on a permanent basis from the summer on a long-term deal.

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Daizen Maeda: I'm looking forward to working with manager again