CELTIC target Daizen Maeda has broken his silence on interest from the Hoops and insisted he is only concentrating on his own club for now.

Ange Postecoglou has been strongly linked with a move for the J-League's top scorer, who has 18 goals in 27 starts this season for the Australian's former club at Yokohama F.Marinos.

Maeda couldn't prevent his side from slumping to a 2-1 defeat at the weekend at Cerezo Osaka, where he failed to add to his impressive season's tally.

But he made it clear he's aware of interest from Scotland, while revealing the origins of his famed speed on the pitch, after official J-League stats clocked him as the fastest player in Japan.

He said: "I know about the reports, but my job is just to concentrate on playing and hopefully scoring goals for Yokohama.

"I am trying not to think too much about the speculation.

"I always think I can score goals in any match and that's all I am thinking about at the moment. I am trying to get into the Japan team for the World Cup qualifiers too. Of course, if I keep scoring goals then good things will happen.

"It's nice to be told about my speed. I wasn't aware of any records until the fans here pointed it out to me.

"The speed thing comes from when I was a kid. Actually, I can't remember losing a race. I think I inherited my speed from my father. I wanted to be a sprinter at one stage.

"When I was a kid in Osaka, I ran around barefoot and climbed mountains without wearing shoes. I wonder if that is was the origins of my speed."