Celtic Told They Have Their Own Jamie Vardy

Celtic scored thrice against Hearts to return to winning ways in the Premiership. Daizen Maeda scored a brace to take his tally for the season to 30 goals. Not bad for someone who has played as a winger for the majority of the campaign.

The other goal on the day came from Jota, who has also scored four times for Celtic already since his late January return.

Of course, the story of the season has been Maeda and his form in front of goal. For the past few seasons, he had been highly regarded for his ability to press the opposition for the entirety of the game. Now, he has added goals to it, which makes him the perfect modern-day striker.

That has seen him being compared to Jamie Vardy, one of the best in the history of the Premier League.

One player who knows Vardy very well, from their time together at Leicester City, is Jeffrey Schlupp, currently on loan at Celtic from Crystal Palace.

According to 67 Hail Hail, Schlupp said: "He’s very, very similar to Jamie, yeah. Obviously, when he does play up front again, the same with Vards, he’s another one, a workhorse who can make an average ball into a great ball which is what Daizen does.

“He’s been on fire obviously, he can keep it up and keep it going for us and then can keep scoring some more goals."

Of course, being compared to Vardy is high praise for any player. It remains to be seen if Maeda can reach the 40-goal mark for the season.

Then, there is bound to be a lot of speculation about his future in the summer. That is to be expected considering the performances that he has put in for Celtic throughout the season, both domestically and at the Champions League level.

It is also clear that Celtic are trying to agree on a contract extension with Maeda. And with the World Cup around the corner, perhaps staying at the club rather than taking a risk, might be the sensible step for the Japanese international.