Craig Moore described how Rangers rejected the idea of signing Daizen Maeda before he became a Celtic breakthrough, calling the move “completely insane.”
Could the 27-year-old have ended up at Ibrox? He has been an excellent addition to the Hoops.
The former Ibrox great, who played for the storied Light Blues team that won nine straight titles, is good friends with Kevin Muscat, a former Rangers defender who worked as Ange Postecoglou‘s coach at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, where Maeda was a star.
After taking over as Hoops manager, Postecoglou was interested in the J-League star, but Muscat had given Moore a great recommendation of the player, so he presented him to Ross Wilson, the Rangers’ recruitment chief at the time. Moore, nevertheless, stated that they had no intention of attempting to sabotage Celtic’s offer for the international star.
Given that he only cost about £1.4 million and has been a huge hit at Parkhead, including a regular thorn in the Rangers team with some incredible derby goals and the game-winning penalty kick that caused the Light Blues to suffer in this season’s Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden, that now appears to have been a mistake.
Around October 2021, Moore claims to have tipped Maeda for a Gers move; two months later, the player joined Celtic, initially on loan. During the same window, Aaron Ramsey signed a contract with the Rangers.
Moore, who is currently an agent, called his former team’s lack of knowledge of the Far East market “absolutely bonkers.” He also asserted that during Postecoglou’s tenure as Celtic’s manager, they didn’t want to shop in Japan because that’s where their rivals were scouting for players.
Moore was questioned when he offered Maeda to Rangers during his appearance on the Go Radio football show. “I believe it was possibly October 2021,” he remarked. I attempted to lure Ross Wilson in! “Listen,” I continued, “I am aware that the player has been mentioned or connected to Celtic.” One of my closest friends, Kevin Muscat, has given me an incredible overview of this guy, and I believe he would fit right in with the football team.
Ross returned and stated that they were aware of the player and that they were confident Ange would be fully informed about them as well. I doubt that was the response I was looking for. “Okay, how do we do something and make that possible?” was what I wanted to hear.
“It was like listening to Muscy all those years ago when I heard Brendan Rodgers discuss him at the press conference on Tuesday since the short and explanation were precisely the same.
He was able to be at Rangers. What are you doing, Ross Wilson?
I understand the process and never take things personally, but I did think he would be a terrific alternative. After all, as an agent or commentator, sometimes we think we have the best ideas in the world that you take to a football club.
“The issue, in my opinion, is that sometimes making decisions requires courage. Due to his background in Asia, Ange investigated that market, and Celtic supported him.
“The market is still reasonably priced. Rangers didn’t want to look into that because they didn’t want to be perceived as doing it if Celtic were, which is just insane. Simply go grab quality players at a reasonable price.
“As I’ve said many times, Asia isn’t well-known in this region of the world, but there is some incredible talent, and Rangers aren’t currently equipped to explore that.”
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