Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy is eager to retain Daizen Maeda and insists the forward is "really happy" at the Scottish champions after a possible summer exit was blocked.

The 28-year-old spoke in September of his thwarted desire to leave, with previous club boss Brendan Rodgers then revealing the Japan international had intimated that he wanted to move on back in February.

Maeda, under contract until June 2027, hit 33 goals in a stellar 2024-25 campaign but has managed to score just seven this term. "He's really happy here," said Nancy of Maeda, who has scored once in five starts under the Frenchman.

"I know that he had the opportunity to leave before but for the moment he's with us and he's happy to be here. "Yes, for sure, we'd like to keep him and he knows that. I hope that he's going to stay."

Maeda has been used through the middle and wide on the left since arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in 2022 and Nancy is delighted to have both options.

"When he starts in the middle, he makes the run on the side to attack," he said. "When he starts on the side, he makes the run towards the net. So this is all about this kind of situation.

"After that, he can be good also as a number nine but he needs players around him. He's a player who can keep the ball but he likes to make the run, he likes to combine.

"But also, tactically, he's really interesting because when I have him on the side, I know that something will happen. Or we can use the fact that he's on the wing to be able to attack through the middle. So it depends."

Celtic have been profligate in the four defeats and one win Nancy has overseen, while a total of 29 goals from 17 league games is down 19 from the same stage last season.

Asked if a new striker was among his priorities in January, Nancy replied: "Yes, but if you watch the [3-1 win over Aberdeen on Sunday] game, we missed many opportunities and it was not a forward.

"We'll see what we're going to do with that. My job is to analyse my players first and, after that, I will see what I am going to do.

"Sometimes, yes, we want to do things, but there are certain things that we cannot control. We are not the only club. There are many things. I'm going to tell you, I like you, I want you as a number six, but maybe we're going to be in competition with other clubs and so on."