Former Celtic forward Chris Sutton has given his take on the impact that Kyogo Furuhashi has made on the team since his arrival.
To say that the Japanese forward, who the club signed from Vissel Kobe for a reported fee of £4.6m, has got off to a flyer at Celtic Park since his arrival this summer would be an understatement.
He has scored six goals in the space of seven games and has instantly struck up a rapport with the supporters, with a recent report from The Scottish Sun noting that his performance against Dundee “earned him instant hero status”.
And speaking on the Record Celtic podcast, Sutton spoke about the 26-year-old’s performances since he came to the club and felt that his play could be crucial for Celtic for the rest of the season:
“Kyogo Furuhashi, I think, is a more rounded player who will get better under Ange Postecoglou, but he looks the part.
“He’s a player who has lifted the whole Celtic support and the stadium, and he’s the player who I think – I’m not saying is the final piece in the jigsaw because Celtic need to add – but he seems to be a bit of a game-changer in taking Celtic to the next level.
“I actually think that if Edouard stays, that partnership will really develop well. I like him as a centre-forward, but I like him off the left. I mean, it looks like he can play a number of positions.
“But to come in and make the impact which he has done and to give the support so much belief has been remarkable.”
TIF Thoughts on Chris Sutton’s comments about Kyogo Furuhashi at Celtic…
Has Kyogo Furuhashi been Celtic's best player so far this season?
Yes
No
A lot of this is being predicated on the idea that Kyogo can keep up these performances throughout the rest of the season and that this sudden burst isn’t just a flash in the pan when it comes to finding the back of the net.
His previous record at Vissel Kobe of 49 goals in 111 appearances – a goal every 2.27 games – would indicate that there might be some drop-off expected as he’s currently on a goal every 1.17 at Celtic Park.
But even if there is one and he ends up hitting somewhere in the middle and averages a goal every 2 games, given how many games Celtic could potentially play this season when you factor in European and domestic cups, then a 50 game season would return 25 goals.
Which would be an incredible debut campaign for him and could really provide a platform for the rest of the team to build off when it comes to challenging for honours this season. So it will be interesting to see if he is able to keep performing like this throughout the season or if this sudden burst of goals is exactly that rather than a precursor to a monsoon of goals.
In other news: McManus drops frustrating Kevin Nisbet transfer claim at Celtic