Celtic's failure to bring in a striker to replace Rennes-bound Kyogo Furuhashi during the winter window certainly irked some, with the burden seemingly left on summer signing Adam Idah and youngster Johnny Kenny.
Furuhashi had been Celtic's main goalscorer since arriving from Vissel Kobe under Ange Postecoglou in July 2021, scoring 85 times from 165 competitive appearances.
However, following his departure to Ligue 1, Furuhashi’s absence has rarely been felt.
His Japanese international teammate, Daizen Maeda, who has primarily played out wide during his three years at Celtic, has stepped up as a key player, now unleashed in a central role.
He’s always had an immense workrate but has recently shown that he has the prolific touch required to lead the line for Celtic too.
Maeda has 25 goals already this season, which is his best ever return in professional football.
And John Hartson, who wore the Hoops jersey throughout the early-2000s, is delighted to see the 27-year-old thrive in what he feels is actually his best position.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, Hartson said: "It's easier now to say that. We weren't quite away before we sold Kyogo. There were a few questions asked, but the simple fact is Maeda has been terrific in his absence since he's been sold to Rennes.
"Credit to Maeda, he plays centre-forward for his national team, Japan, we've seen him play there several times while Kyogo was at the club, but now he seems to have shown that through the middle is probably his best position. And he's really stood up.
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"I was one of those thinking, 'Do we really need to sell Kyogo for £10million?'. I thought he was a world class centre-forward, he scored goals at every level for Celtic; league, Champions League, cup finals, won us trophies, won us a lot of games. But now it looks like Maeda has stepped up.
"What's he got? 25 goals? He has been absolutely instrumental for Celtic while Kyogo is gone.
"I just think he's took that little bit more responsibility being the out and out centre-forward now.
"Everyone talks about his running power and his closing down, how hard he works as he chases full-backs, he goes all the way back to his own box and then he's sprinting forward to help Celtic out when they counter.
"But I think, yes, we know he works hard, he's got incredible energy levels. But the credit comes from his finishing and his goal prowess. The way he's now banging in hat-tricks, he's putting himself in positions to score goals, he's making goals, he's scoring goals, and that's the difference for me.
"All the talk about Maeda before was about his engine and how powerful he was, but you have to give him credit for his goal prowess."
