AS news broke that Kyogo Furuhashi was of interest to Man City this afternoon, some Celtic fans will now be looking at the transfer window with nervous anticipation.
Just as the Celtic supporters were coming to terms with possibly losing Matt O’Riley to Brighton, they now have to deal with the prospect of Kyogo moving to Pep Guardiola’s Man City.
Whilst no one knows if figures have been spoken about in terms of a fee for the Celtic striker, here are three young players that Brendan Rodgers should demand from Guardiola as part of any potential deal.
Justin Oboavwoduo could learn from Adam Idah
Young Justin Oboavwoduo could be one that Rodgers should look to get at Celtic. At just 17, the young forward already has 30 caps for England from U15 to U18 level.
Predominantly a right-winger, Oboavwoduo is very versatile and can play as a striker, both attacking flanks, attacking midfield and as a central midfielder.
Although he has still to make his full Man City debut, the young attacker has scored 30 goals in 68 appearances for the youth and City B team.
Described as a ‘skilful and dynamic forward‘, Oboavwoduo is part of the Man City EDS squad and scored a hattrick in the FA Youth Cup against Fleetwood Town.
After losing the likes of Rocco Vata, the Man City youngster could be a good replacement for the young Irish winger.
Jacob Wright could become Celtic’s ‘midfield general’
As every Celtic fan knows, the club will need to look at replacing Callum McGregor at some stage down the years.
The Celtic captain still has four years left to run on his current contract after signing a new deal last summer, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a contingency plan in place.
And Jacob Wright could be that man. Described as a ‘midfield general‘, 18-year-old Wright has nine caps between U17 and U19 level for England.
Man City see him as ‘intelligent in his distribution’ and ‘strong at breaking up play’ and has been at the club since the age of eight. Wright also faced Celtic in the US Tour this summer.
With 62 appearances for the B and youth teams combined, Wright made his full first-team debut under Pep Guardiola in the Champions League against FC Copenhagen and then made another appearance in the 5-0 demolition of Huddersfield in the FA Cup last season.
Luke Mbete could offer competition for Liam Scales
A left-footed centre-back, 20-year-old Luke Mbete could offer some competition for Liam Scales at Celtic.
With Gustaf Lagerbielke seemingly on his way out and Maik Nawrocki nowhere near the first team, Mbete could bolster the centre of defence whilst learning off the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Mbete has made three appearances for City which include a cameo in the last-16 of the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon in 2022.
The England U21 international has also enjoyed loan spells at Huddersfield, Bolton, Den Bosch and will spend next season at Northampton Town. He also faced Kyogo Furuhashi in Celtic’s 4-3 win over City on the US Tour.
City see him as a ‘brave, strong defender‘ with a ‘vocal presence on the pitch’. With another loan spell under his belt at the end of this season, Mbete should be ready to make the jump to first team football and where better to continue to develop than under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic?
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