Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda were goal scoring stars in the Meiji Yasuda J.League. Furuhashi, the Vissel Kobe wunderkind who could score in each and every way, and Maeda, the Yokohama F·Marinos tornado who captured J1 Top Scorer.

Now, Furuhashi and Maeda are Celtic teammates, and they haven’t slowed one bit in the Scottish Premier League.

Furuhashi was a consistent goal scoring menace in the J.League, first with FC Gifu and then in Kobe. For three straight years over multiple divisions he averaged between 0.38 and 0.49 goals per 90 minutes, then he went supernova in 2021, scoring 15 goals in 21 matches for Vissel before departing for Celtic.

Amazingly, he’s been even better in the Scottish Premier League.

In Furuhashi’s first season at Celtic Park, he scored 12 goals in 20 matches at a 0.89 goals per 90 minute rate. He was even better last season, scoring 27 goals in 36 matches and went over a goal per 90 minutes. That also earned him league Player of the Year honors.

So a great J.League player proved himself to be an even better player in Scotland.

Maeda had no problem transitioning to life in Scotland either. He’s averaged 0.46 and 0.37 goals per 90 minutes, rates that exceeded most of his time in Japan.

Both Furuhashi and Maeda’s professional careers were born and bred in the J.League. They grew from bright young talents to a pair of the best goal scorers in the country. That earned them a move to Europe and the Scottish giants, where they looked just as good as they did in their home country.

Wherever Furuhashi and Maeda go, be it in a Vissel, Marinos or Celtic shirt, they score.