Celtic have hit the jackpot on star who’s outscoring Kyogo

Celtic made a huge decision in the recent January transfer window when they decided to cash in on Japanese centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi.

The Hoops sold the Japan international to Ligue 1 side Rennes for a reported fee of £10m after a three-and-a-half-year spell with the Scottish giants for the Hoops number eight.

Kyogo racked up 85 goals in 165 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish Premiership champions, with 34 of those coming in the 2022/23 campaign.

The 30-year-old marksman was not at his very best in front of goal in the first half of this season, before his move to Rennes, though, and that may have played a role in the club’s decision to let him leave.

Kyogo’s goalscoring record this season

Kyogo scored 19 goals in all competitions during Brendan Rodgers’ first season back at the club last term, and started the current campaign as the first-choice centre-forward once again.

However, the Japanese attacker’s wasteful finishing was noticeable in the Premiership. He scored ten goals in 22 outings in the top-flight and missed a whopping 17 ‘big chances’ along the way.

The £10m-rated star also only scored one goal from 2.47 xG across seven appearances in the Champions League, which shows that the forward was incredibly wasteful in Europe as well as in the Scottish top division.

Kyogo scored 12 goals in 32 matches in all competitions, seven short of his tally from last term, and he has yet to score in three matches for Rennes in Ligue 1 to date.

Despite his drop-off in form, Celtic still lost a goalscorer when they sold the striker in January, but that did not matter because Rodgers has hit the jackpot with two other goalscorers in Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah.

Celtic have struck gold with Idah

The long-serving Maeda has exploded with 27 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions, but he is not the only Celtic star who has outscored Kyogo this season.

Idah was signed on a permanent deal from Norwich City for an initial £8.5m last summer and was valued at £2.9m by Transfermarkt at the time of the move.

He has enjoyed a very steady first full season at Parkhead, adjusting to permanent life in Glasgow, and has racked up a tally of 14 goals – two more than Kyogo – in all competitions. That includes three goals in ten matches in the Champions League, whilst Kyogo only scored three goals in 19 games in his Celtic career in that competition.

Idah, who scored twice in the 4-2 loss to Aston Villa, has shown that he can step up to perform on Europe’s biggest stage, which is something that the Japanese forward struggled with.

This, along with the fact that he has outscored Kyogo – alongside Maeda – in all competitions this season, suggests that Rodgers hit the jackpot by recruiting him to be Celtic’s new number nine last summer.

His market value has also soared as a result of his form for the Scottish giants this term, with Transfermarkt currently valuing him at £4.2m – more than £1m more than he was valued at last year.

Celtic will, now, be hoping that Idah can continue to shine and show that he has what it takes to be the long-term number nine for the club, replacing Kyogo, and increasing his market value to potentially be sold on for even more in the future.

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The Hoops already have a centre-forward who has provided a bigger threat in front of goal than Kyogo did immediately before his exit, whilst also having a player with the potential to leave a bigger mark in Europe moving forward.