Maeda has been used through the middle and wide on the left since arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in 2022 and Nancy is delighted to have both options.
“When he starts in the middle, he makes the run on the side to attack,” he said.
“When he starts on the side, he makes the run towards the net. So this is all about this kind of situation.
“After that, he can be good also as a number nine but he needs players around him.
“He’s a player who can keep the ball but he likes to make the run, he likes to combine.
“But also, tactically, he’s really interesting because when I have him on the side, I know that something will happen.
“Or we can use the fact that he’s on the wing to be able to attack through the middle. So it depends.”
Celtic have been profligate in the four defeats and one win Nancy has overseen, while a total of 29 goals from 17 league games is down 19 from the same stage last season.
Asked if a new striker was among his priorities in January, Nancy replied: “Yes, but if you watch the [3-1 win over Aberdeen on Sunday] game, we missed many opportunities and it was not a forward.
“We’ll see what we’re going to do with that. My job is to analyse my players first and, after that, I will see what I am going to do.
“Sometimes, yes, we want to do things, but there are certain things that we cannot control.
“We are not the only club. There are many things. I’m going to tell you, I like you, I want you as a number six, but maybe we’re going to be in competition with other clubs and so on.”
