With the greatest of respect to Kyogo Furuhashi, fine player that he is, reports in the English media that Manchester City were considering a move for the Celtic striker seemed at first to have come from the moon (blue or otherwise). Or, likelier still, to have come from the new agency representing the player, rather than from the Etihad.
One prominent celebrity ‘transfer guru’ even touted Kyogo as a winger as he amplified the story on social media, lending it the same sort of credence I remember giving to the first rumours that an over-the-hill Andy Goram was about to leave Motherwell for Manchester United.
Except, hold on, that wasn’t a fever dream after all. That actually happened. And when it transpired that the original Kyogo tale had come from credible sources who are close to City, and not from the agency Kyogo moved to just three weeks ago (not something players generally do, by the way, unless they have pastures new in mind), then I figured it may be time to take the rumours a little more seriously.
Understandably, the initial reaction from the majority of Celtic supporters seemed to be one of alarm. With Matt O’Riley looking a certainty to leave in the coming days, losing Kyogo too would be a hammer blow, particularly with so little time left in the transfer window to find a replacement.
Adam Idah is back in the building, but manager Brendan Rodgers was already shopping for another forward to back up what he last week called his ‘two first-choice strikers’, and probably wasn’t foreseeing a situation where he might have to replace one of them at the same time.
Kyogo’s departure would leave Celtic with a heck of a lot to do before the window closes in just 10 days’ time. A starting midfielder and striker would be required who are capable not only of keeping them comfortably ahead of the domestic curve, but helping them compete in the Champions League, as well as a left back to push Greg Taylor and another centre back as a bare minimum.
Any Celtic fan who may be consoling themselves with the notion that a move to Manchester City, and the level of the English Premier League, would be beyond Kyogo may be kidding themselves on.
There is also a tenuous link here in former Vissel Kobe manager Juanma Lillo, who is now assistant to Pep Guardiola at Man City, and while his presence may be a simple coincidence, he will certainly know all about the striker’s capabilities. For any other shortcomings in Kyogo’s game, his movement is top class, and he would surely thrive if he was being served by the likes of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne.
I’m not saying a man who can’t get into the Japan squad at times, never mind their team, would go to the club who has won six of the last seven English Premier League titles and oust Erling Haaland from the starting line-up.
But the more you think about it, the more his signing makes sense from a City perspective as a low-cost (particularly relevant in this FFP era), low-risk back up to Haaland and a replacement for the departed Julian Alvarez.
And whisper it, but with my tin hat at the ready, might the idea of moving Kyogo on also make sense from a Celtic perspective?
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Let me make it clear first and foremost that I am a huge admirer of the striker. He has been a wonderful performer for Celtic, and it has been a pleasure to see him grace Scottish football. He turns up in big games and has tormented Rangers in particular with crucial goals in the Old Firm derby. However…
He will be 30 in January. His troublesome shoulder injury has flared up once more, ruling him out of the win over Hibernian at the weekend. Rodgers said afterwards it is likely to continue doing so unless he undergoes surgery. If he does, that will keep him out for four months.
He wasn’t at his best last season, scoring just 14 goals in the league. He hasn’t scored away from Celtic Park since February’s Scottish Cup win at St Mirren, and not in the league since a win over Hearts at Tynecastle last October.
Granted, he does look to be a good deal sharper at the start of this campaign in his all-round play despite not yet finding the net, and looks to be more in tune with what Rodgers wants from him. But while he would absolutely be hard to replace, is he irreplaceable?
I don’t think so. The trouble is, if this seemingly unlikely bolt-from-the-sky-blue transfer does come to pass, replace him Celtic must.
The club might well bank around £15m if he departs, and they can’t just throw it on the money pile along with the club record fee they look like bringing in for Matt O’Riley. The fans will only grudgingly accept the departure of that duo if a significant sum is invested in replacing them.
Even if Celtic do that, they will still only be treading water at best from where they ended last season in terms of the depth and quality of their squad.
Kyogo to Manchester City might seem like a story straight out of silly season, but the more you mull it over, the less outlandish it seems. If it happens, though, the Celtic fans won’t settle for the club playing silly buggers in the rest of this transfer window.
