It’s now day 13 of the January transfer window and Celtic are still no closer to signing a striker than when Kyogo Furuhashi left the building 12 months ago.
Kyogo made his Celtic exit to Rennes in a £10m deal last January and since then, the Parkhead club have still not replaced the Japanese striker.
Yes, Shin Yamada and Callum Osmand were brought to Celtic Park, and so too was Kelechi Iheanacho, but if the Parkhead board are really honest with themselves, neither of those three are at the same level as Kyogo.
I am choosing Callum Wilson/Kyogo Furuhashi because…
And now, after Celtic failed to bring Kyogo back on loan this month, Michael Stewart has told the board that they risk further fan fury if they allow this window to close without finding a suitable striker for Martin O’Neill.
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Michael Stewart tells Celtic ‘they better pull a rabbit out of the hat’
Almost two weeks of the transfer window have gone, and after the failed Kyogo bid, Stewart nails the Celtic board with a big transfer warning.
Stewart told the Scottish Football Social Club, “We know how this world works. The rumours about Kyogo, there’s no smoke without fire there. There are no other rumours at the moment.
“So the Celtic board better hope that they’re able to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Otherwise, oh my word.
“Forget about just bringing somebody in. They’ve got to come in and actually have an impact. Because if they bring someone in and they don’t, like Shin Yamada who came in in the summer, he’s not done anything.
“If they do something like this, it’s only going to fuel the fire of even more discontent amongst the support of what’s the recruitment team doing? What’s the board doing?”
Michael Stewart’s ‘serious concern’ about the Celtic board’s transfer plans
A striker should have been signed and delivered by the Celtic board on the 1st of January, after all, they knew Kyogo wanted to leave in August 2024 so there really are no excuses now.
But as the transfer window ticks on, Stewart delivers his ‘serious concern’ for the Celtic fans.
“I’ve got serious concerns for Celtic in regards to what have they actually done over the last four months since the last window to line up and get things in place,” continued Stewart.
“Now Tisdale’s gone, Nancy’s gone. Now, you’re telling me that they’re literally having to start from scratch.
“And if that’s the case, who’s making those decisions? How quickly are they going to get things into place? It’s a serious concern, because as good as Martin O’Neill and his coaching staff are top class.
“And there was a real despondency amongst all the people connected with Celtic because of the lack of transfer activity.
Kyogo Furuhashi back to Celtic… initial thoughts?
“They need to pull a rabbit out of the hat here otherwise it could derail everything for them.”
Michael Stewart is bang on the money. Apart from Kyogo, the only other striker Celtic have been linked to is Mohamed Bamba.
And as fans know, the Ivorian has his fair share of problems on and off the field that don’t make him an ideal fit for Celtic right now.
Celtic fans’ patience is already at breaking point with this board, and it will be broken beyond repair if this transfer window ends the way it is looking like it is panning out right now.
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