Kyogo Furuhashi is worth at minimum £20MILLION and I can understand the comparisons with Henrik Larsson.
That's the view of former Celtic defender Alan Stubbs who reckons Ange Postecoglou's recruit from the J-League has been 'exciting' since the day he arrived in Glasgow. The attacker quickly established himself as a fans' favourite in the east end and has scored a stunning 26 goals in all competitions this season so far. That follows up a tally of 20 last term - despite a number of injury issues in his debut campaign.
Postecoglou has enjoyed much success in the transfer market since his arrival and has already bought and sold Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis. Liel Abada is the latest linked with a £10million exit this summer while adding the Champions League money leaves the balance sheet looking 'very healthy'. That is why Stubbs reckons they don't have to sell anyone but if they are tested over Kyogo it would take a huge fee to prize him away.
READ MORE: Kieran Tierney lands 'in a heartbeat' Arsenal response as Rangers hero brands price 'absolute snip'
He also believes simply being mentioned in the same breath as Larsson by Celtic fans just goes to show what he is doing for the club is 'very special'.
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, he explained: "The big thing for Celtic is the financial position they find themselves in. I think the playing field they are on now is different and improved to five years ago.
“Then they might have had to sell a player but now they don’t have to because the balance sheet is very healthy.
"And if they are tested over Kyogo then they are going to make sure that he will go for top dollar and let’s be honest he won’t go for anything less than £20million.
“I think Kyogo has been exciting since the day he arrived. I was interested to hear Ange’s comments that the team are not giving him the best service.
"He’s always making intelligent runs and he must be so difficult for defenders to deal with ecause his timing is so good. I think Ange is alluding to the fact that players are not reading his runs all the time and if they do he’s only going to score more goals.
"I can understand why fans are making comparisons with Henrik Larsson and if you’re getting mentioned in the same breath as him then you know he’s doing something very special."
One former Celtic star who has been in the headlines of late is Kieran Tierney with his future at Arsenal a hot topic of discussion.
Rangers hero Barry Ferguson has already claimed a £30million fee for the full-back would be an 'absolute snip' and that he would sign him in a 'heartbeat'.
Stubbs believes he should depart the Gunners with Newcastle reportedly keen on a deal. He reckons that move would be good on paper and says the Scotland international WON'T struggle for options in the summer.
He added: "I don’t think Kieran will struggle for options. He will have plenty of admirers in the Premier League and in Europe.
“It does look like he will have to leave Arsenal to get more game time.
“I was surprised they signed Oleksandr Zinchenko because Kieran had done very well and the fans liked him – even although he had some injury problems – but Zinchenko is Mikel’s No1 and Kieran can’t get in the team.
“Newcastle are reportedly in the market and that looks like a good move to me. It’s closer to home as well but they are a team on the rise and I can see that one happening.
“They have big plans and I’m sure their ambitions will match Kieran’s."
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