DEAL CONFIRMED;Celtics star Kyōgo Furuhashi signs a lifetime permanent deal contract with Rangers
It is not a title Celtic fans have thrown around too often in the past 20 years, but it is one many have been happy to bestow on Kyogo Furuhashi – the best since Henrik Larsson.
It is unlikely any striker in green and white will ever reach the levels of adulation the Swede continues to enjoy to this day.
But Kyogo, with his goals, game intelligence and infectious personality had carved out a special place in the hearts of the Parkhead faithful.
With the Japan forward poised to complete a sudden move to Rennes in France’s Ligue 1, what impact has he had? How might Celtic replace him? And what do the fans think?
Kyogo in numbers
The Scottish champions must now fill the void left by a player who did not just make a habit of scoring, but of scoring big goals in big games.
In his debut season with Celtic, two sublime finishes in the 2-1 League Cup final victory over Hibernian at Hampden established Kyogo as a man for the big occasion.
Rangers will certainly be glad to see the back of him. In 17 derby matches, Kyogo scored eight times, four of them match-winners.
Since he was signed by Ange Postecoglou in 2021 from J-League club Vissel Kobe, no player has scored more than Kyogo’s 63 Scottish Premiership goals, with Heart of Midlothian’s Lawrence Shankland next on the list on 51.
After netting 20 and 34 respectively in all competitions in his first two seasons under Postecoglou, the scoring rate has dropped in the past two seasons to 19 goals in 2023-24 and 12 goals in 32 games this term.
Goals are only one element to Kyogo’s game, though, and it is testament to his all-round value that he has remained Brendan Rodgers’ first-choice striker even when the goals have not been flowing as freely.
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