Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Kyogo expressed a desire to leave Celtic a few months ago.
The Japanese striker’s glorious three-and-a-half year tenure at Parkhead is set to end with a £10m transfer to French side Rennes close.
Kyogo was spotted boarding a private plane on Thursday having played his last match in the famous green and white stripes in the Champions League win over Young Boys.
The 30-year-old hasn’t quite hit his usual goal-scoring standards this season with just 12 goals in 32 appearances for Celtic.
And there appears now to be a firm reason for that as Rodgers addressed the press on Friday morning regarding Kyogo’s impending exit to France.
- READ MORE: Kyogo told Celtic risk was ‘worth taking’ despite disallowed Champions League goal vs Young Boys
Rodgers addresses Kyogo transfer exit wish
Rodgers confirmed to reporters that Kyogo has wanted to leave Celtic for some time now and is ready for another chapter in his career.
The Northern Irishman says the club must accept his wish to exit and noted that a replacement will be needed before the deadline to fill the gap in quality.
Rodgers said: “Kyogo had expressed an interest to leave a number of months back”, revealed Rodgers.
“Obviously then that expression becomes stronger and then it gets to this stage where he clearly wants to leave and we have to then do a deal and look to finalise that for him.
“He’s been an incredible player for the club in the three-and-a-half years he’s been here and, like I said, he’s not someone we wanted to lose.
“But we have to accept where he’s at and after the work that he’s done to give to Celtic, and his age and where he’s at, we have to accept that.”
“There’s obviously issues around the timing. But we have been aware so it’s not something that has just been sprung on us.
“We understand that we were going to lose him and that we have to replace that quality to keep the team moving forward.
“It’s something that’s been going on in a little while and hopefully we come out of the window with a stronger squad.”
Rodgers on potential Jota deal
The Celtic boss was also asked about the club’s interest in fan favourite Jota, who is closing in on a reported £9m move back to Parkhead from Rennes.
Jota was outstanding for the Hoops under ex-manager Ange Postecoglou and was instrumental in Celtic’s Treble success in 2022/23.
He moved to Al-Ittihad in 2023 for £25m but his time in Saudi Arabia was a complete disaster and he moved to France to resurrect his career.
But that hasn’t exactly worked out for the Portuguese winger either and now, Celtic are swooping in to take him back to where he produced his best form.
Rodgers has said the deal to bring Jota is not over the line yet, but is hopeful it can be confirmed within the next 24 hours.
He said: “It’s not finalised yet. But a player who clearly would be an incredible addition to our squad given what he’s done here before and his qualities. Hopefully we can complete that in the next 24 hours.”
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