The £21m gamble that Wolves must take to give themselves some chance of survival

The picture could scarcely look any bleaker for Wolves. Without a win and already 12 points adrift of safety ahead of their match against Manchester United on Monday, they look destined for the drop – but perhaps the January transfer window will offer a chance to turn things around, even if it’s only a slight one.

So far, rumours of movement at Molineux have been rather thin on the ground. They seem to be in the market for a right-backs like Andrei Ratiu and may well change goalkeeper if they can wrap up their long-running pursuit of Christos Mandas. All very worthwhile, but perhaps a little akin to shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic. Wolves need someone to score the goals.

With Jørgen Strand Larsen struggling to replicate last season’s form and chances hard to come by, it’s hard to imagine Wolves turning things around if they can’t find a replacement for the departed Matheus Cunha, a spectre who may well haunt them on Monday. As it happens, however, there is one player alleged to be on their radar who might just be able to fill that void – Celtic’s Daizen Maeda.

Why Celtic’s Daizen Maeda could be exactly what Wolves need this January

Wolves have been linked with Maeda on a few occasions since the summer, albeit only periodically and as one name among several – and there are some good reasons that may not want to make a move, especially with his asking price reportedly set at £21m.

The versatile Japanese forward, who primarily plays as a left inside forward at Celtic Park, isn’t a remarkable all-round player. He works hard off the ball but his passing is inaccurate, he doesn’t beat many defenders on the dribble, and his statistical output right across the board is well below par, even for the Scottish Premiership.

In fact, when looking at the raw data, there only seems to be one thing he’s good for – goals. Lots of goals. The discrepancy between Maeda’s underlying numbers and the impact he has on the scoresheet is extraordinary.

It was last season when he really took off, although he had some previous in his home country – the 28-year-old his 16 goals and provided 10 assists for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season despite all of the statistical evidence that he shouldn’t have come close to such returns. This was a winger who took less than two shots per match on average, after all. He just so happens to have hit the back of the net with around a quarter of all of his attempts since last summer.

He's already scored five goals in the league so far this time around (a similar pace to that which he managed in 2024/25) and picked up two assists. He’s a brilliant finisher who seems to make the most of every chance he gets to do some damage. He may well be precisely what Wolves are missing.

Of course, there is a long list of players who have struggled to translate their successes north of the border to the Premier League, and Maeda could easily become another. He certainly offers up some red flags for the English top flight’s more data-focussed teams to think over. But everything he has done over the past 18 months suggests a player who doesn’t plan to stop taking his chances, and he could just offer the kind of cutting edge that Wolves need.

Signing Maeda would be a gamble, certainly, and it may well not pan out – but aside from £21m, it’s difficult to guess what Wolves have to lose just now. They either find a player who can score goals and support Strand Larsen, or they resign themselves to their fate.

Will Wolves sign Maeda this January?

Wolves’ name has come up a few times when Maeda’s future has been discussed in the gossip columns – in a TeamTalk story from November, for instance – but there has yet to be any corroboration from major media companies or broadsheets. There is always a chance that it’s no more than chaff from the rumour mill, as so many such stories prove to be.

Their name has also come up only as one of many. Brentford, Everton, Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion are the other usual suspects in these stories, and it may well be that Wolves are interested but could be crowded out of the race by teams whose league position is rather less tenuous.

In short, there are many barriers to such a move, although neither the player nor Celtic are likely to be one of them – recent reports suggest that the Bhoys are largely resigned to losing Maeda in the near future and won’t stand in his way if an appropriate offer comes though. £21m was the price in the summer when Fenerbahçe were knocked back. It may be much the same now.

Maeda himself has admitted to the media that he “wanted to take the next step” in his career and had hoped to leave his current club this summer, and that he “asked Celtic until the last day” to let him leave. This is a player keen to jump ship.

Wolves, if they are indeed among his suitors, may well have a battle on their hands – but it’s hard to imagine that there is another player available at a vaguely reasonable price point whose scoring record is anywhere near as impressive, or who fits a clear hole in the squad as cleanly as Maeda does. They may or may not make a move, but surely this is the sort of chance that they have to take if they are to stand even the remotest chance of remaining in the Premier League.

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