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As the season draws to an end and the transfer window gets closer, there have been discussions on the future of a few players, regarding who should be kept on the team and who should head out of Parkhead, on loan or permanently.
Celtic's star forward Daizen Maeda is one of the players whose future has become a topic of discussion.
Maeda, predictably, won the Celtic Player of the Year award and was also named SPFA Player of the Year, capping off a remarkable season. With 33 goals and 12 assists across all competitions so far, he has given his game a new dimension as the team aims to win a domestic treble.
As everyone would expect, his outstanding play has not gone unnoticed, and it was recently claimed that several big-name Premier League clubs were exploring a move for the Japanese international.
However, Maeda has made it clear that he will remain fully committed to helping Celtic complete a domestic trophy sweep. He also stated that he is willing to postpone contract talks until after Aberdeen's showcase match at Hampden Park.
The Japanese forward, whose contract with the Hoops spans until 2027, said: “Yes, the gaffer spoke to me about it. But there are still some games to be played this season so I just want to focus on them. We still have the Scottish Cup final to play for this season so I don’t want to focus too much ahead. I want to focus on that."
Despite his clarification, Maeda has not committed to anything past the end of the season. It's pragmatic enough to understand that if a big offer was made, he would consider it, but let's hope that doesn't happen and the club can keep him for as long as possible.
Maeda is currently at the peak of his career at the age of 27, and he will only become better. Hopefully, Celtic will be the place for those best years.
More must-reads:
- Matt Campbell finalizes program-friendly contract extension with Iowa State
- Top Micah Parsons landing spots as Cowboys' contract talks deteriorate
- The '250-strikeout MLB seasons' quiz
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Five biggest losers from the 2025 MLB trade deadline
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline was 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. Some teams managed to get better in either a short-term or long-term outlook. Other teams did not. We've already gone over the five biggest winners, which featured some surprising teams. Here we are focusing on the five teams that were the biggest losers. Minnesota Twins The good news for Twins fans is the team did not trade outfielder Byron Buxton or starting pitcher Joe Ryan. The bad news for Twins fans is the team traded pretty much everybody else. The worst news is the Twins have pretty much sabotaged any goodwill the team had built up in recent years, including their 2023 trip to the American League Division Series. Since then the Twins collapsed late last season, did very little in the offseason and then completely gutted the roster over the past two weeks, including a straight salary-dump trade of Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros, his former team. This is going to be a long, slow climb back to the top. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates had a chance to have a potentially impactful trade deadline with some intriguing trade chips in what had become a seller's market. They ended up trading closer David Bednar, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Bailey Falter and relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson. They held on to pending free agents Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. What's so baffling about the trades they did make is that they gave up useful, productive players with years of team control still remaining, did not get a single highly-ranked prospect back in return and kept the players that are going to leave for nothing. The only winner here is owner Bob Nutting's bank account for all of the money he saved in the future by dumping Hayes' contract and potential arbitration years from Bednar and Falter. Chicago Cubs After paying a steep price to get outfielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason everybody in Chicago knew the clock was ticking on the Cubs to build a winner around him. He is a free agent after this season and seems determined to hit the open market for the highest bidder. Even though the Cubs have emerged as a contender, it was pretty clear as the season has gone on that they needed at least one more starting pitcher. They did not get one, and instead only added a utility infielder (Willi Castro) and reliever Taylor Rogers. While so many teams around them in the NL managed to get better, it's an underwhelming deadline performance for a team that should be going all in. Atlanta Braves It's not that the Braves did anything poor at the trade deadline that makes them losers. It's that they didn't do ... anything. At least not anything that they needed to do. None of their pending free agents were moved, no significant changes were made to a team going nowhere this season and the only move they did make was a marginal trade involving Rafael Montero. That is extremely underwhelming. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were rumored to be in the market for a significant starting pitcher, including Minnesota's Joe Ryan. They did not make that sort of splash move, and instead added Steven Matz and Dustin May. For a team trying to hang in the American League playoff race, that is not really exciting. They also paid a steep price to get May, giving up one of the top prospects — outfielder James Tibbs III — they acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the San Francisco Giants.
Bombshell Cowboys Report Emerges After Micah Parsons Trade Request
Since being selected 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Penn State, Micah Parsons has emerged as one of the league’s premier talents and the focal point of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Despite this, he has yet to secure a new contract. With the Cowboys having exercised his fifth-year option, guaranteeing a $24 million payday for next season, per Spotrac, Parsons now seeks a long-term extension that would set a new benchmark for non-quarterbacks in the NFL. The two-time All-Pro edge rusher has reported for camp but refrained from participating in on-field drills amid an increasingly bitter contract standoff. On Friday, a new twist surfaced as NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero revealed that conversations about trading Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons date back to the 2024 season. This came amid news that Parsons has officially requested a trade out of Dallas, posting on X that he "no longer wants to be here." Micah Parsons Career Accolades and NFL Milestones Parsons burst onto the national stage at Penn State, where he was named a Freshman All-American in 2018 after leading the Nittany Lions with 82 tackles and forcing two fumbles. As a sophomore in 2019, he earned consensus All-American honors, was voted the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and claimed Cotton Bowl Defensive MVP honors with 14 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in a single game. Opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, he maintained his status as a top NFL prospect and was promptly drafted by Dallas in April 2021. Since then, he has racked up: NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2021) First-team All-Pro (2021, 2022); Second-team All-Pro (2023) Four-time Pro Bowl selection (2021-2024) Butkus Award (Pro) winner (2021) PFWA All-Rookie Team (2021) Last season, Parsons joined NFL Hall of Famer Reggie White as the only players in league history with at least 12 sacks in each of their first four seasons. The Contract Impasse: From “One Last Time” to Trade Request Despite being considered a generational talent, Parsons and the Cowboys have been deadlocked on a long-term extension through the entire offseason. On Thursday, Parsons posted a "one last time" GIF under a photo of himself with cornerback Trevon Diggs. This was followed up with a formal trade request on Friday, citing frustration over "closed-door negotiations without my agent present" and "narratives created and spread to the media about me." The crux of the dispute reportedly stems from a spring meeting between Parsons and owner Jerry Jones, in which Jones believed he had reached a handshake agreement on revised terms. When Parsons insisted that all further dialogue move through his agent, David Mulugheta, the Cowboys reportedly refused to engage, resulting in stalled talks and widening mistrust. Dallas has yet to conduct a single negotiation with Mulugheta, and Jones has publicly downplayed Parsons’s leverage by citing his four missed games last season, despite Parsons compiling 12 sacks in 13 appearances. The timing of Parsons’s request comes amid a record offseason for elite edge rushers, as Myles Garrett (four-year, $160 million), Maxx Crosby (three-year, $106.5 million) and T.J. Watt (three-year, $123 million extension) have all secured new deals.
Yankees Could Move Injured Starter to Bullpen
Even after landing three new high-impact relievers in David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird at the trade deadline, the New York Yankees could transition a starting pitcher currently on the injured list to the bullpen once he's healthy. The New York Daily News' Gary Phillips mentioned that after failing to land another left-handed reliever to pair with Tim Hill, the Yankees may consider moving Ryan Yarbrough to the bullpen. With Luis Gil set to make his season debut this weekend against the Miami Marlins following a rehab assignment while Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Marcus Stroman are all capable of filling a rotation spot to varying degrees, the Yankees don't necessarily need Yarbrough to eat innings down the stretch. The 33-year-old southpaw has resided on the IL with an oblique strain since June 22. Manager Aaron Boone stated on July 29, however, that he's begun throwing off a bullpen mound, per MLB.com. Yarbrough will almost certainly require a rehab assignment, but he should make his way back to the Yankees in the coming weeks nonetheless. Yarbrough's Prior Bullpen Experience Throughout Yarbrough's nine years in the major leagues, 136 of his 212 appearances and 419 of his 823 1/3 innings have come as a reliever. Over that stretch, he's pitched to a 3.74 ERA and 4.33 FIP with 336 strikeouts. In Yarbrough's 15 1/3 frames out of the bullpen for New York this season, he's logged a 4.11 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Yarbrough's Potential Bullpen Role Across Yarbrough's eight outings as a reliever in 2025 thus far, he's thrown two or more innings in four of them. With Hill as the Yankees' late-game lefty option, Yarbrough could flip-flop between filling a long relief role and serving as a middle reliever alongside fellow southpaw Brent Headrick. Yarbrough may still get some opportunities to start this year before entering free agency, but the bullpen is likely where he'll spend a majority of his time for New York moving forward. Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more! Yankees World Series Odds Improve After Trade Deadline Yankees' Brian Cashman Wins Deadline War Against Rival GM What Yankees Bullpen Looks Like After Trade Deadline Stock Rising For Compelling Yankees Trade Target Former Yankees Outfielder Traded To NL East Contender
Knicks New Forward Lands Major Honor
The New York Knicks will have a captain take the floor next season ... also Jalen Brunson's still on the team. The French men's national basketball team announced on Friday that New York newcomer Guerschon Yabusele will serve as captain as the squad goes into battle at the upcoming EuroBasket competition. Yabusele is currently training with Les Bleus, who are seeking their second tournament title and first since 2013. "I can't say I expected it, but it's nice to be captain, even if it doesn't change my status in the team," Yabusele said in an interview on the French squad's official site (translation via Google). "You'll have to be an example, be good and fair on and off the [court], guide everyone on the right path, and, even if things aren't going well for me personally, always maintain a positive attitude for the team ... I'm aware that it's a big responsibility, especially with a new group embarking on a new adventure." Yabusele, 29, follows in the footsteps of longtime NBA veterans Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw, both of whom helped guide him to the captaincy. Prior to returning to the NBA last season after a five-year absence, Yabusele turned himself into an accomplished star on the international circuit, earning championships and All-Star invites in China, Spain and his native France. Yabusele's time with Les Bleus has produced back-to-back silver medals at the Olympics (the first case of consecutive podium showings for the French) and he was also on the runner-group at the last EuroBasket tournament, which saw the French fall to Spain in the final. France previously took home the 2013 edition with Batum, Diaw and Tony Parker leading the way. This time around, France will compete in Group D play in Poland, facing off against "Biało-czerwoni" as well as Belgium, Iceland, Isreal, and Slovenia. Preliminary play gets underway on Aug. 28 when Les Bleus face the Belgian Lions in Katowice. The newly-minted "capitaine" Yabusele will make his Knicks debut later this fall after signing a two-year deal with the team earlier this offseason. Joining the former Boston Celtics/Philadelphia 76er on the EuroBasket journey is former Knick Frank Ntilikina as well as Alex Sarr, the second overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft currently stationed in Washington.
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