Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi has said he is not yet a ‘great player’ and made a surprising claim about his finishing.
Kyogo has been a standout performer for the Bhoys this season and that is mainly down to his efficiency in front of goal.
The Japanese striker has already netted 22 goals in 34 appearances for Ange Posetcoglou’s men during the current campaign – two more than he managed throughout the whole of last season. But the 28-year-old feels he can still improve on certain aspects of his game, including his finishing.
Kyogo feels he isn’t a ‘great player’ yet
Speaking to media in Germany, as relayed by the Daily Record, Kyogo says he needs to start varying his types of finishes more often.
“Obviously I’m not a great player, so I still need to keep working on my game and improving,” the Celtic star said.
“My positional play, for example, or the timing when I offer myself for a pass, or that I will be even more varied in my finishing. I keep working on those things in training so that I can implement all of these processes in the game in the best possible way.
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“I am very grateful because I have great teammates, club staff and fans who all always support me. Fans who cheer me on, a team of coaches who trust me as well as teammates who fight for the ball with a lot of physical effort and create chances with wonderful passes.
“I want to repay everyone’s trust by scoring goals, running a lot, with and without the ball, to help the team win. After the World Cup squad announcement, I immediately switched my mind and concentrated on the upcoming Celtic Champions League game against Real Madrid, but I wasn’t able to play the way I had hoped for and I was therefore no help to our team.
“But I was very happy that my teammates kept encouraging me to help build me up again. So I was very determined to do even better and score more goals to not only win matches, but to make all my teammates smile.
“And during the World Cup, I was really inspired by the fighting spirit of the Japanese internationals. It was a bit different than watching previous tournaments because this time it was all players that I played with.
“This made me want to work on my skills even more and improve the quality of my game. I think that my development curve is currently pointing in a good direction.”
Many Celtic fans would probably disagree with Kyogo’s modest assessment of his all-around game, particularly his positional play and timing of runs which have been stellar.
But it’s brilliant to hear that he is still eager to improve and also exciting, especially from a player who is leading the goalscoring charts in Scotland.
Kyogo returned to the Celtic squad over the weekend after suffering an apparent shoulder injury. With the Scottish League Cup final just a few days away, he has another chance to show just how good he is at this moment, even if there’s more to come.