It has been a while since West Ham United had someone representing them among the Premier League’s Player of the Year nominees.
Predictably, Jarrod Bowen was the most recent claret-and-blue clad nominee. Who else?
The West Ham United captain was chosen for selection at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kevin de Bruyne, Joao Cancelo, Heung-Min Son, Bukayo Saka, future Hammers teammate James Ward-Prowse, and eventual winner Mo Salah.
Three years on, with Bowen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka seemingly turning the 2025 Hammer of the Year battle into a two-horse race – the West Ham faithful cannot split Graham Potter’s standout duo – a fight to be crowned the Premier League’s top performer will take place without a hint of claret anywhere in view.
Though north of the border, as Daizen Maeda picks up Scotland’s own Player of the Year gong, West Ham could yet secure the services of an award-winning forward as the summer transfer window cranks into life.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
West Ham target Daizen Maeda named Scotland’s Player of the Year
While West Ham have held talks with Celtic wonderkid Daniel Cummings, a far more established member of Brendan Rodgers’ roster is also in their sights.
West Ham are a paid-up member of the Daizen Maeda fanclub. A club whose membership has grown considerably over the last 12 months.
With shades of Jarrod Bowen, the £25 million-rated Maeda has reached all-new heights in Celtic green. From an exceedingly hard-working but often wasteful attacker into an exceedingly hard-working but utterly ruthless goalscorer.
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His previous best return in a Celtic shirt was eleven. This season, however, Maeda has not so much improved his return as tripled it. The Japan international – so blisteringly effective out of possession that Rodgers dubs Maeda two players rolled into one – has 33 goals and 12 assists to go alongside a fourth successive Scottish Premiership title.
Maeda drops transfer hint which will interest West Ham
Maeda may have lost out to Rangers hitman Cyriel Dessers for the Golden Boot but, with the Scotland Player of the Year award sparkling on his mantelpiece, a player Ange Postecoglou brought to Glasgow after working together in the Far East ensured he would not go hungry in his desire for individual honours.
“I’m very happy to receive the award,” Maeda beams, stepping beautifully into the shoes of his departed compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi following his January switch to Rennes. “I think teammates come first and it’s because of them I have received this award.
“After that, it’s managers, coaches, staff, and also of course my parents. I’m really pleased to receive this award for them.”
Now, as the Celtic faithful know only too well, there tends to be a pretty short shelf-life for players rapidly outgrowing a relatively small Scottish Premiership pond.
With plenty of admirers on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall – and approaching his peak aged 27 – has Maeda achieved all he can realistically hope to achieve on Rodgers’ watch?
The comments he made regarding his future not only bring about a few drops of drizzle on an otherwise sunny Celtic Park day, they will also have West Ham’s ears perking up.
“This is a world where you never know what’s going to happen next,” Maeda adds. “This is a good team but I need to think about what comes next with my family and everything. Now, my focus is on this team.
“We’ll just get the games done, then let’s see what happens.”