Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will be making his demands clear to the board that he does not want to see Daizen Maeda sold this month.

What's the latest?

There have been reports suggesting the Japanese forward has been picking up some interest from the Premier League with the likes of Southampton said to be interested in the 25-year-old.

Although there may be interest coming from south of the border, the Hoops will sit in a strong position if the interest is to develop given Maeda still has until the end of the 2025/26 campaign on his current deal.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Pete O'Rourke has claimed the Australian manager will be doing everything he can to keep the forward at Parkhead this month:

"I'm sure Ange Postecoglou will be demanding that the Celtic board keep hold of Maeda unless it's an offer that they've received which is too good to turn down.

"But I'm sure Maeda is quite happy up at Celtic as well and Celtic will be keen to keep ahold of him."

Delaying the inevitable?

The Bhoys have been no stranger to cashing in on some of their star players to Premier League sides in the past and we do wonder whether any efforts to keep him could be dealing the inevitable.

The likes of Virgil van Dijk has previously left for a move to the Saints in the past and Kieran Tierney is a more recent departure to Arsenal.

However, this does not go to say Postecoglou should just stand to one side and allow his players to leave in the middle of the season.

There is still an awful lot resting on the Bhoys this season with numerous trophies that they can get their hands on in this second half of the season.

And Maeda has been a key player in Postecoglou's side over the opening stages of the campaign having already made 29 appearances this season.

Across the 20 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, Maeda has been able to provide a healthy return of five goals and five assists (via Transfermarkt).

Although there are a number of players at Celtic who has outscored the Japanese forward this season, the 25-year-old has offered some big goals in tight games against Rangers, Hearts and Motherwell this season.

There are reports suggesting Celtic's Greek striker, Giorgos Giakoumakis, could be heading for the exit door at Paradise this month which could leave Postecoglou short if they are unable to replace him.

But when you have a player impressing on the biggest stage of them all as Maeda did at the World Cup, it will naturally be difficult to keep ahold of them.