Kyogo Furuhashi’s departure from Celtic has been confirmed and he has joined Rennes.
Even though there were weeks and weeks of speculation around Kyogo’s future, including the MLS official site claiming that he had joined Atlanta United, his actual exit happened pretty quickly.
Hours after Celtic beat Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday night, it all started to blow up on the transfer scene.
Kyogo was heading to Rennes – after starting and playing his last game for the club against Young Boys – and Jota returning to Parkhead.
That was confirmed on Monday and the decision to sell Kyogo, as well as the player’s call to leave midway through the campaign, has caused a bit of a stir, including from Chris Sutton.
Chris Sutton states what would make him change his mind about Celtic selling Kyogo Furuhashi
One man who has been vocal about Kyogo’s exit has been Sutton and he ‘isn’t happy’ that the 30-year-old has left when there is still a lot to play for this season, including the knockout stages of Europe’s elite competition.
It also leaves Brendan Rodgers short up top because Adam Idah is the only senior striker on the books and you suspect a new face will walk through the doors before the January transfer window slams shut.
Sutton stated that if Celtic sign a ‘better striker’ than Kyogo, then he will admit, ‘I got it wrong’ and he will change his mind about the whole situation, as he told Sky Sports Scotland.
“Absolutely brilliant for Celtic, they have gone and made progress (in the Champions League), but then they have sold Kyogo,” said Sutton.
“Why? No (I am not happy). I don’t understand it. Celtic have got through (in the Champions League). They have earned the right to get through. Would Celtic stand a better chance of progressing even further if Kyogo was still at the club? I believe so.
“Look, let’s wait until the end of the window and judge. Maybe Celtic bring a better striker than Kyogo, then I will hold my hands up and say, ‘I got it wrong’. But I don’t understand. It does seem that way where Celtic are saying, ‘well, we got to the play-offs, that’s our ceiling’. I’d like the club to be a bit more ambitious, in that respect. If Celtic and Rangers, the gap was two points, are you telling me Celtic would have sold Kyogo? I don’t think so, we know the answer to that. I think there is the element from Celtic where they think the league is done. I am always quite wary about that. There is still work to do. Aston Villa on Wednesday. Battle of Britain. Big game as well. I wanted to see Kyogo playing in that game. There is always a lot of needle in those games.”
Why has Kyogo left Celtic?
Even Pep Guardiola has openly stated that if a player wants to leave, whoever they are, then he is happy for them to go and Rodgers is no different.
The Celtic boss openly stated that Kyogo, many months ago, expressed a desire to want to go and now a deal has been done.
“Kyogo had expressed an interest to leave a number of months back,” said 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.”
But what is the exact reason for the player wanting out? Well, it seems as though it has to do with wanting to play for the 2026 World Cup after missing out on the Qatar World Cup.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
