Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Kyogo Furuhashi will see extended involvement in the upcoming matches against Jablonec and Dundee respectively.
Furuhashi made his Hoops debut on Saturday after a period of self-isolation in London. The Japanese international would come on for the closing stages of our 2-1 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle. However, given the appearance came only hours after coming out of isolation, it wasn’t enough time to make an impact.
The former Vissel Kobe man has since had a positive few training sessions under his belt. Many will be keen to see what role he plays over the coming week, starting with tomorrow’s Europa League qualifier against Jablonec.
Thankfully, Postecoglou has confirmed Furuhashi has had a positive few days under his belt and is set for extended minutes in the next two matches.
Speaking via Celtic TV, the manager said: “He literally came to the hotel, I put him on the bench, and he played, which was a pretty bizarre way to start a career at a new club in a new country.
“But he’s trained the last couple of days and he’s looked really good. I think he’ll be well liked and popular with the players and the supporters. I know him really well as a player and his strengths, and I think the good thing with him is he was playing, he was mid-season. So his fitness levels are pretty good.
“So he’ll play a part absolutely tomorrow and probably a bigger part at the weekend.”
Kyogo Furuhashi will be looking for big Celtic impact this week
Hearts was always going to be an unfair debut for him. Fans of course hoped that he could’ve made the difference. However, was it ever truly realistic? Not overly.
Even so, he showed positive signs. There was some good footwork from him in the closing stages and he took up good positions in the penalty box too. Let’s not forget he could’ve had an open goal had Ryan Christie crossed across the face of goal for him in the closing stages.
Considering the absolute whirlwind of a period he’d just gone through, it said a lot that he was willing to play at all. His determination was certainly on show.
Even over the next few days, we can’t overly expect much. Not when he’s still getting to know all of his teammates. But what we should see at least is an improvement.
It looks as though he’s going to get the chance to show just that in Jablonec and against Dundee on Sunday. Both providing a huge chance for him to get his Celtic career off to a flyer.
Goodness knows we could do with a boost like that.
In other news, James McCarthy in the frame to make Celtic debut on Sunday
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