Kyogo Celtic exit irony sees brutal Rennes move somehow pay off in one key area

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Kyogo has struggled at Rennes since he moved to the club in January.

The Celtic hero has been forced to sit on the bench more often than not and has been limited to just 92 minutes of total football from three matches since his Ligue 1 move.

Manager Habib Beye humiliated Kyogo when picking his side against PSG by throwing a 17-year-old striker into the deep end vs the heavyweights ahead of the former Hoops star.

And yet the 30-year-old’s ambitions have still somehow been achieved despite a lack of playing time in France.

• READ MORE: Celtic told it would be ‘really, really surprising’ if Kyogo returned to the club, months after leaving

Kyogo has been called into Japan squad since leaving Celtic

Kyogo told Brendan Rodgers at the beginning of the season that he wanted to leave Celtic to play for his country in coming international fixtures. It was a bold statement for the player to make considering manager Hajime Moriyasu had snubbed the striker more often than not despite Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda being involved.

But now – somehow – Moriyasu has opted to pick Kyogo for the Japan squad for matches against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia despite a significant lack of minutes on the pitch for his club.

Again, Kyogo will link up with his former Hoops pals who have both had excellent seasons with Maeda in particular picking up Kyogo’s goal scoring slack in a player of the year worthy season.

Before leaving Parkhead, Kyogo had hit 12 goals in 33 outings in all competitions and was manager Rodgers’ clear first pick through the middle with Adam Idah being forced to bide his time to get a chance from the start.

Why Kyogo has struggled at Rennes since Celtic exit

Idah and his teammate were paired as a duo up top at one stage and Rodgers explained the chances of playing that way again before his star man ultimately left in a £10million switch.

It has been rough for the player who has been out of favour since Jorge Sampaoli left Rennes and one journalist suggested recently that Kyogo “pack up and leave” the club.

He was also accused of breaking his manager’s trust with a shoulder injury he has suffered from since his time in Glasgow.