Jose Mourinho wants to bring Japanese striker Daizen Maeda to Fenerbahce.
Turkiye media Idman Biz said on the 10th (Korea time) 'Korean soccer player Son Heung-min has emerged as a major recruitment target for Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce plans to open talks with Tottenham to sign Son Heung-min, the 32-year-old striker. However, Son is likely not to respond positively to Fenerbahce's offer as he is having a satisfying time at Tottenham, reports said.
Recently, Mourinho also showed his love for his student Son Heung-min. Asked who he had cheered for in the Europa League final, Mourinho said: "My heart was shaken. On the one hand, I love Manchester United and I also have a good relationship with Coach Huven Amorim. On the other hand, however, when I saw Son cry with the trophy, I felt very special,' he said, showing his love for his student.
News of Mourinho's reunion with Son Heung-min came out, but the Turkiye media reported that it was a rumor. The player Mourinho really wanted was Daizen Maeda, who emerged as Japan's best striker, not Son Heung-min. The Celtic Star reported on the 10th that interest in Maeda, Scotland's player of the year, is mainly being raised in Mourinho's Fenerbahce.
Maeda, a former top scorer in the J-League, joined Celtic in the summer of 2021 and melted into the team stably. He revitalized Celtic's offense with his unique explosive speed, and his tireless physical strength also helped the team's tactics. However, compared to speed, dribbling and finishing ability have been evaluated as somewhat disappointing.
Maeda showed remarkable growth in the 2024-2025 season. Until the middle of the season, his contribution in the league was somewhat insufficient, but he rebounded sharply after 2025 and exploded his sense of scoring. In 2025 alone, he scored 12 goals and seven assists in 16 league games, and it was a remarkable achievement that filled the void of Kyogo Furuhashi, who left the team.
In the end, Maeda scored 33 goals and 12 assists in 49 games throughout all tournaments this season, and even won the honor of being the league's top scorer and player of the year, creating a career-best year. Although it has also received attention from Premier League clubs, Mourinho also seems to want to have Maeda.
The problem is that it doesn't look like things will flow as Mourinho wants. Fenerbahce's proposal seems to fall short of the price tag set by Celtic. Another obstacle is that Fenerbahce will not be able to play in the European Champions League next season.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
