Birmingham City are keen to rescue striker Kyogo Furuhashi from his £10m Rennes nightmare
15:25, 04 Jul 2025Updated 15:25, 04 Jul 2025
Kyogo Furuhashi is being targeted by Birmingham City
Kyogo Furuhashi is ‘a special talent’ who will bolster Birmingham City’s bid for back-to-back promotions.
That’s the verdict of the Daily Record’s Ryan McDonald, who watched Kyogo at close quarters during his electric three-and-a-half year spell at Celtic Park.
Kyogo is reportedly closing in on a move to Blues after a difficult six months at Rennes since leaving Celtic in a £10m transfer during the winter window.
The 30-year-old is set to leave France this summer and a move to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, where he would be reunited with compatriot and ex-Celtic teammate Tomoki Iwata, is moving closer.
Blues would be getting a striker who scored 85 goals in 165 matches for Celtic, including numerous strikes in Old Firm derbies versus Rangers and Champions League efforts against Atletico Madrid and Lazio.
Kyogo might have struggled in France, but he is revered by Celtic supporters.
Speaking to our Keep Right On Podcast, McDonald said: “The biggest compliment I can pay Kyogo is that even now most fans would say he’s the best striker Celtic have had since Henrik Larsson. That was the chat this time last summer.
“He scored 85 goals in three-and-a-half seasons, he scored eight goals against Rangers, he single-handedly won two League Cup finals for Celtic – again, one of those was against Rangers.
“He was a special talent at Celtic and the fans took to him right away.”
Blues manager Chris Davies has two reference points for Kyogo in current Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers and his predecessor Ange Postecoglou – Davies has worked under both as an assistant.
Kyogo netted 31 goals in 18 months under Rodgers, but under Postecoglou he enjoyed a breath-taking 2022/23 campaign which saw him score 34 times across all competitions.
“He prefers to play on the shoulder of the last defender, and the way Ange Postecoglou played his football it perfectly suited Kyogo. They played to his strengths,” explained McDonald.
“The wingers would get to the by-line and cut it back, and Kyogo would be there to slot it in, or it would be clipped over the backline and Kyogo would be there to run on and score.
“Unfortunately, in his third season and his last six months at the club, Brendan Rodgers came in and adapted his game slightly. As I said, Kyogo prefers to play on the shoulder, but Brendan asked him to play deeper to get him more involved in the game and I don’t think that suited Kyogo at all. We didn’t really see the best of him in his final 18 months at the club.”
Kyogo Furuhashi was prolific at Celtic before joining Rennes in January
Kyogo quickly became a favourite of Celtic fans with a hat-trick in only his third appearance after joining from Vissel Kobe in 2021. His status as a cult hero was helped by a number of goals against Rangers.
McDonald added: “He was known as a big game player for Celtic. There were times when he might have touched the ball three or four times by 60 or 70 minutes, then he would come up with a moment of magic to win the game. That’s the type of player he is.
“He’s slight but he scored his fair share of headers and was never afraid to get stuck in. He’s a special talent and it’s a shame to see what’s happened at Rennes.”
Blues are scouring the market for attacking talent to give Davies options for next season, and Kyogo fits the bill.
The 23-cap Japan international would give Blues some added oomph up front – or indeed behind the main striker – in Davies’ favoured 4-2-3-1 system. Kyogo is at his best in central areas.
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“In Japan he also played as a left-winger. The only time I can recall him playing that role was one of his first derbies at Ibrox and it just didn’t work out at all. He looked uncomfortable. Obviously you’ve got the pressure of playing at Ibrox with 50-odd thousand fans screaming down your neck.
“That was the only time he played there. Ange Postecoglou recognised it and shouldered the blame for it. Ever since, he’s played through the middle.”
There is a caveat to what, on paper at least, has the makings of a very good deal. Kyogo has been troubled by a shoulder injury for some time that requires surgery.
Kyogo’s shoulder would occasionally pop out during Celtic matches and limit his involvement, albeit not enough to prevent him from playing a minimum of 40 games in each of the past four seasons.
His former manager Rodgers estimated that the required surgery would rule Kyogo out of action for four months.
McDonald concluded: “He has an ongoing shoulder issue and at some stage down the line he will need to have an operation to get it fixed. He’s been managing it and seems to be getting by, but it’s something to keep an eye on.”
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