First revealed by the Scottish Sun , the two clubs have discussed conditions over a potential transfer, although no formal offer has been made. They claim the Blues are keen on thrashing out a quick agreement to sign him.
Maeda is out of contract next summer, with Celtic boss Martin O’Neill admitting that he could leave before the start of next season’s Scottish Premiership.
The 28-year-old, who predominantly plays off the left but can feature in any position in the forward line, has played for the Hoops since 2022, having previously spent time with J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos after a loan stint at Portuguese club Maritimo.
Maeda has won five Scottish Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups in the last four years, also boasting 30 senior caps for Japan, having started in three of their four 2026 World Cup games, scoring the opener against Sweden.
🔥 DAIZEN MAEDA WITH AN OVERHEAD KICK!
Celtic with a two-goal cushion over Rangers, and it comes in SPECTACULAR fashion ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/EZgSda8fYm
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 10, 2026
He has openly expressed his desire to play Premier League football as recently as last week, telling Japanese YouTube show Pivot: “Since I went to Celtic, I became interested in the Premier League. I started watching a lot of Premier League games. I have a strong desire to play in the Premier League.
“I watch all the games. When I was in Japan, I didn’t watch football at all. But when I went abroad, I was able to watch it in real time. So I naturally watched the Premier League.”
Maeda is the second Japanese player Ipswich have targeted this summer, as talks with free agent Hidemasa Morita continue following his departure from Sporting CP.
Deals for Abdul Fatawu (Leicester, £20m), Issa Diop (Fulham, £8.5m) and Kayne van Oevelen (FC Volendam, £3.4m) are expected to be completed in the coming days, while negotiations are said to be ongoing with Union SG for Kjell Scherpen.
