Greg Taylor has come to the defence of team-mate Daizen Maeda after the Celtic forward received harsh criticism while on international duty with Japan. 

Maeda has 17 caps for his country and was Celtic's only representative in the Japan squad for their recent World Cup qualifying win over North Korea, with Kyogo Furuhashi continuing to be exiled by manager Hajime Moriyasu, and Reo Hatate working his way back to fitness. 

The spotlight has been shone on Maeda since former Samurai Blue defender Marcus Tanaka labelled the Celtic star "nothing special" and claimed he is "terrible on the ball" during a recent interview. 

But Hoops left-back, Taylor, believes that assessment isn't merited as he stated why he's Maeda's biggest fan. 

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Asked if he felt the winger was under-appreciated, he replied: "Not within this building, and certainly not by me. I’m Daizen’s biggest fan and I’ll never under-appreciate him as a player.

“He’s a breath of fresh air, he works ever so hard for the team and is always willing to do that bit more.

"His pressing, I think he’s genuinely one of the best at pressing in the world. I think his presses and his numbers are right up there. In training I actually think he recharges the battery through the week at times! 

“There’s a couple of days out there where you think Daizen’s just getting ready for the weekend, and sure enough, when the weekend comes he normally doesn’t stop. That’s a good way to be, he knows his body.”