Town defender Leif Davis says it has been a joy to play alongside summer signing Daizen Maeda during the opening weeks of the Premier League season.

Energetic forward Maeda joined the Blues for an initial £8m from Scottish giants Celtic in July and has been Gary O’Neil’s preferred choice at left-wing so far this term, having started three of the first four league matches.

That has meant the Japan international has begun to form partnerships on the field, with early showings highlighting Maeda’s defensive contributions and allowing left-back Davis to bomb forward into attacking positions.

Davis explained just how much Maeda’s arrival brings to the team, and that he is delighted to have the five-time Scottish Premiership winner on board at Portman Road.

“He’s not human, I tell you,” he joked. “It’s not just his pressing, his quality on the ball as well. We have a good connection, it’s probably a very athletic left-hand side.

“He knows if I go, he’s got to cover, and if he goes, I’m always there for him. When he presses, it’s ridiculous how he can be there and everywhere. I’m like ‘thank God I’ve got him in front of me’.

“He does make it a lot easier for me, but whoever plays in front of me knows they have to do a job. I have to do a job behind them, most importantly, to tell them where they have to be and stuff like that.

“Daizen’s fitted in really well and it’s good to have him in the building with us. A great lad as well, always wants to improve and he’s a good part of the team.

“It’s different now, the new manager changes shape as well. It depends where the full-back is, the manager might want Daizen all the way back or me out wide and him inside. It works differently, but he has brought my game on a lot.

“I wouldn’t say it’s easier for me, but it feels a little bit more easy when he’s there. If he doesn’t play, then I can’t just feel like I’m relying on him in front of me.

“I’ve always had a good connection with Clarkey [Jack Clarke] and Jaden [Philogene] as well. They both know how I like to play. We’ve played many years together, so we all know how we play with each other.”

Clarke and Philogene were the top two goalscorers as Town secured an immediate promotion out of the Championship, with the duo highlighting the Blues’ embarrassment of riches for options on the left flank.

The recent victory over Crystal Palace saw Clarke come into the side from the off, while Philogene started the Carabao Cup tie with Arsenal after a delayed start to the season with an ankle issue.

While their profiles are slightly different to the role that Maeda plays, Davis insists he receives plenty of support from the man in front of him regardless of who is selected to start.

He said: “They’re both incredible players as well, both on and off the ball. We see all the stats after the games and you can see that they do put the work in, which is why they’re so good off the ball. They do all the work off the ball, and when they do get the ball, the full-back’s tired and stuff like that.

“Even coming off the bench as well, Jack, with his goal against Sunderland, doesn’t let it affect him even if he doesn’t start or if he does start. He’s always there in the game, and that’s the biggest thing for me this year.

“The lads that have come off the bench, they haven’t sulked at all. They know the job that they have to do and they’ve been a strong part of the team as well, even though they haven’t been on the pitch from minute one.

“With Jack and Jaden, they both do the work anyway. But with Daizen, I don’t even have to tell him, he just does it, which saves me a few breaths in the game and gets my breath back a little bit.

“He knows he does it for the team as well. Any of the boys that will play in front of me or who play any position on the pitch do it for each other, and that’s the main thing. We’ve got to go out there not just for individual performances, we’ve got to do it for the team.

“There’s 11 of us on the pitch, we have to go and do it together. That’s what we say before the game, it’s only us in the changing room that can do it on the pitch. It’s not whoever’s in the stands or whoever’s on the bench, it’s the boys that are in that room playing from minute one, and then to whoever comes on whenever in the game.

“They know the roles that they have to do, and everyone this year who has done that has done a good job.”

Off the pitch, Davis has regularly spoken about his passion for flying and using his very own flight simulator at home where he can jet off in real time anywhere in the world.

Elaborating further on the reasons behind his unique interest, he said: “It’s something I want to do after football. It’s a passion and a hobby that I’ve loved since I was very young, which my grandad got me into.

“When he passed, I wanted to carry on that hobby and try and make him proud in that way. Not just on the pitch at football, but in something that he loved doing.

“You’ve got to be switched on in both. You’re looking after the lives of how many people you’ve got on the plane and the people on the pitch as well. You’ve got to be switched on at all times, switched on if you’re in the cockpit of the plane.

“Speaking to ATC [air traffic control], you’ve got to be switched on. I think exactly the same [with football], you’ve got to be switched on both on and off the pitch. Hopefully I do have time to do it, it’s always been a hobby of mine, so hopefully after football I can get my licence.”

When pushed for his dream aircraft to fly, Davis added: “I’d probably say the new [Airbus] A350, it’s something I’d like to fly. It’s basically taken over the new A380 now, so it would be something like that.”

Photo: Matchday Images