The new general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars wants the NFL to know how good his team can be. Jaguars manager James Gladstone says that his quarterback Trevor Lawrence is going to only get better. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Trevor…” – #Jaguars GM James Gladstone on Trevor Lawrence at the Combine […]
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The Los Angeles Lakers were involved in one of the biggest trades in NBA history ahead of the trade deadline as they acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic is now paired up with LeBron James on the Lakers, and the duo is looking good so far. It will take time for Doncic to […]
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BRENDAN RODGERS says Daizen Maeda is the blueprint for everything he wants a Celtic player to be.
The Japanese international, 27, has proven time and time again this season that there’s so much more to him than his electric pace and relentless energy.
With those two traits alone, he was already a frightening prospect.
But now hes continuing to show just how clinical he can be in front of goal too.
Maeda scored 11 goals in first full season at the club and ten throughout the following campaign.
The lighting forward has already beaten both of those tallies combined this season, with his brace against Aberdeen taking him to 25 for the term.
Four of those goals came in the Champions League too.
There are now fans claiming he is the out-and-out winner to be named Player of the Year already – an incredible turnaround given Nicolas Kuhn’s crazy start to the campaign.
And Rodgers has joined fans in praising the frontman, labelling him the “symbol” of his team.
He said: “He’s a symbol for our team and what I want in relation to I always want that intensity in the press.
“The press is everything for us.
“He sets the tone for the team and everyone then follows him.
“Central he can go that and obviously from the wide area as well.
“But he is a really wonderful symbol of how we play and work and I am delighted for him.”
Rodgers also admitted other clubs will be watching Maeda after he took his tally to 25 for the campaign.
Asked if he feared potential suitors would be eyeing Maeda – who has two years of his Celtic contract remaining – Rodgers confessed: “I would think he would be getting interest.
“I think a number of the players will because of their efficiency and their work.
“And not only that, they’ve done it at the highest level. If you’re doing it at a Champions League level, you’re showing you can do it on that stage.
“So if you’re scoring goals like he has, working as hard as he does, then of course that will always bring attention.
Celtic: Schmeichel 6, Johnston 7, Trusty 6, Carter-Vickers 6, Schlupp 7 (Scales 80, 2), McGregor 8, Hatate 7 (McCowan 59, 3), Kuhn 7 (Yang 59, 3), Engels 7 (Bonnar, 80, 2), Jota 8 (Idah 59, 3) , Maeda 8.
Aberdeen: Doohan 5, Jensen 6, Tobers 5 (Dorrington 62, 3), Knoester 6, MacKenzie 6, Nilsen 5 (Clarkson 71, 2), Shinnie 6, Keskinen 6, Nisbet 5 (Gueye 45, 4), Okkels 5 (Morris 45, 5), Dabbagh 6 (Boyd, 80, 1).
Referee: John Beaton 7.
“But I also think the structure of the team really promotes his qualities.
“His first goal was wonderful anticipation to get onto it, and the second goal is what he’s shown a lot this season, where he’s in the areas we want him to be in after a brilliant cross by Ali Johnston.
“He’s deserving of everything he’s getting so far. And he’s developing as a football player.
“He shows that every day in training, that’s the beauty of it.
“At 3-0 up the ambition is there for the team. We want to score more goals, we want to create more.
“And he typified that.
“It was great for Yang as well, because he scored a wonderful goal.
“It was great combination play and he finds a really good pass and makes a really good finish.
“On the game, the result and the scoreline was very impressive.
“I thought that the first-half goals were very good but I wasn’t so happy with their pressing.
“It wasn’t quite right and that’s why we were a wee bit loose with the ball, but the mentality was there in the team to be clinical and I thought in the second-half we were much better.
“We played mostly in their half, suffocated the game and scored two more wonderful goals.
“So it’s a really pleasing scoreline against a team that found that wee bit of form again and have good quality players.
“One of the traits within this team is what I recognise as the resilience in them.
“Any moment this season when we’ve had a little bump, the mentality to come again has been there and that was what we had today.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
MANCHESTER UNITED will face an eye-watering £12MILLION bill if they sack Ruben Amorim this summer.
The Red Devils’ head coach is understood to have a watertight clause in his contract — meaning he gets the remainder of his 2½-year deal paid up if he is ever axed.
There is no suggestion under-fire part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has any plans to dump the Portuguese, who only joined the club in November after Erik ten Hag was sacked.
And that is despite a shocking run of eight defeats and just four wins in his 15 Prem games.
But if things deteriorated further for a team Amorim labelled “the worst” in United history, he would walk away with whatever is left on his £6m-per-year agreement.
The same financial security is understood to apply to all the backroom staff he brought with him when he left Sporting.
And that would see the total cost of the P45s for Amorim and his coaches hit a whopping £20m.
Last week, accounts until the end of 2024 showed United owe a huge £1billion, including £300m to clubs for transfer fees they are paying on drip.
Amorim, 40, whose 15th-placed side host struggling Ipswich at Old Trafford tonight, said: “When you start a season it’s completely different.
“In pre-season you have time to change things. That was my choice. I knew it would be tough.”
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Ironically, revelations over Amorim’s contract come amid claims rival clubs are looking to buy United’s sell-on clauses for ex-Red Devils.
Such clauses have been popular with Old Trafford chiefs when offloading players in recent.
Scott McTominay, Mason Greenwood, Facundo Pellistri and Hannibal Mejbri are amongst stars with potentially lucrative fees to be paid if they are sold on.
United could pick up a much-needed financial boost if they do sell some of these clauses.
Red Devils’ minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is already set to axe 200 jobs more around the club, on top of 250 staff being made redundant last summer.
