IT is a sign perhaps of Celtic’s strength in depth that even Kyogo, one of the darlings of the support, is now having to compete for headlines. And it is a sign of how well Giorgos Giakoumakis has performed that there is even some debate about who should lead the line for Ange Postecoglou’s team.
The striker has quietly picked up this season where he left off in the last campaign though, scoring the opening goal in his side’s last two matches and taking his total to 22 goals in 36 appearances in all for the club.
It was something of an anomaly that in last week’s win over Kilmarnock, Kyogo’s first-time finish to break the deadlock was his first touch of the game, but Celtic manager Postecoglou doesn’t underestimate the contribution of the forward to his team; both on and off the field.
"I can only answer internally and we all know how important Kyogo is for us,” Postecoglou said.
"Everyone appreciates the footballer he is, the person he is and what he gives the team. It's not just about his goals, it's his work rate and attitude.
"Kyogo is a quality finisher, an intelligent footballer and a handful for other teams. He is really valued at this club.”
Postecoglou believes that Kyogo is now back to his best following his periodic hamstring injury troubles from last term.
"He is, and even that injury said a lot about him,” he said.
"He played in a cup final when he wasn't 100 per cent, scored a couple of goals and that probably put him out for a couple of months.
"We understand his mentality. You can measure courage and bravery in different ways but to me that was the biggest testament to him.
"He is a tough character. Not many players would go out there on cup final day and score two goals with that injury.
"Kyogo was out for a significant period of time but he worked hard in rehab and he has hit the ground running again.”
