Naoki Maeda (footballer, born 1994)

Naoki Maeda (前田 直輝) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Urawa Red Diamonds.

Career
Naoki Maeda joined to J2 League club; Tokyo Verdy in 2012. In 2015, he moved to J1 League club; Matsumoto Yamaga. In 2016, he moved to Yokohama F. Marinos before rejoining Matsumoto in 2018. In January 2022 he was loaned to FC Utrecht of the Dutch Eredivisie on a six-month loan spell. He made his debut on 16 January 2022 in a match against AFC Ajax starting on his debut and playing for 11 minutes before being forced off due to a broken leg following a tackle from Ajax’s Lisandro Martínez. It was announced on 31 August 2022 that Utrecht signed Maeda on loan again for the 2022–23 season.

On June 30 2023, it was announced that Maeda returns to Grampus following the end of loan spell at Utrecht. He is subsequently given number 25 shirt of the clubs' first-team.

In January 2024, Maeda transferred to Urawa Red Diamonds ahead of the 2024 season.

Honours

 * Nagoya Grampus
 * J.League Cup: 2021