Michael Stewart suggests Kyogo Furuhashi’s replacement is already at Celtic if he does join Man City

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The thought of losing Kyogo Furuhashi to Man City will fill many Celtic fans with dread this week.

With Man City said to be deciding on whether or not to make an offer for the Celtic striker in the coming days, the Parkhead support is facing the prospect of losing two of their best players if Matt O’Riley also departs for Brighton.

Kyogo Furuhashi has been a huge success at Celtic after his 73 goals have helped the club hoover up seven trophies out of the last nine.

But with the prospect of losing Kyogo to Man City lingering, Michael Stewart believes Celtic don’t need to look too far for his replacement.

Daizen Maeda is a ‘viable option’ as a Celtic striker

Just like Kyogo, Daizen Maeda has also been vital to Celtic’s successes over the last three seasons. And as Kyogo sat out the win over Hibs in the League Cup, Maeda stepped in and has now given Brendan Rodgers some food for thought according to Stewart.

Stewart told The Scottish Football Social Club, “Maeda has shown himself, and I think here in Scotland we felt that through the middle maybe he wasn’t an option.

“I know he’s played there for Japan but certainly there (against Hibs) he looked more than capable. He looked like a very viable option.

“So fast forward from last week where Kyogo is potentially injured, they haven’t signed Adam Idah yet and you’re thinking they don’t have a striker.

“All of a sudden now you’re looking and going they’ve got three. They’ve got three options up there. So things move fast in football and it’s certainly looking good for Celtic in that department.”

And there is no reason to think why Maeda couldn’t fill in that role if needed. The Japanese winger is used as a striker by Hajime Moriyasu so the position is not alien to him.

Indeed, Maeda was also deployed as a striker during his time at Yokohama F Marinos and Mito HollyHock before he came to Celtic.

The only concern is that his finishing can sometimes be inconsistent but if he can nail that, then who knows? Maeda could be the perfect person to slot in up front should Kyogo make his Celtic exit.