KYOGO FURUHASHI was again left out of Birmingham City’s starting line-up in their 1-1 Boxing Day stalemate against Derby County at St Andrews.
The former Celtic fans’ favourite, who fired in 85 goals at the Hoops between arriving in July 2021 and leaving in January this year, has struggled since his £10million exit to Rennes.
Remarkably, Kyogo failed to claim a solitary strike in France before moving to the Midlands club in the summer.
And the livewire frontman, who will be 31 next month, has yet to score a Championship goal for Chris Davies’ side. He came on as a 58th minute substitute yesterday, just six minutes before Jack Robinson claimed their equaliser.
Kyogo may have struggled for the best part of the year, but he is still being linked to an extraordinary return to Parkhead.
LITTLE BHOY BLUE…Kyogo Furuhashi screams in anguish after another Birmingham City miss.
Former Celtic goal hero Chris Sutton said: “Wilfried Nancy got the victory he badly needed against Aberdeen last weekend.
“But it was another game where it showed the Celtic manager what he really needs the most – a proven striker.
“This squad needs a lot of work in most areas, but the lack of a reliable goalscorer is a huge problem.
“And that’s why it’s no surprise to hear some talk about the prospect of Kyogo coming back to Glasgow.
“The Japanese striker has not had the best of times since he left Celtic. He had a difficult spell in France and now is struggling at Birmingham City.
“Kyogo made his name at Celtic for being a lethal finisher, but he’s missed a glut of chances in the Midlands and found himself out of the team more often than not.
“It’s clear he’s lacking in confidence and perhaps a shadow of the player he was for most of his time in Scotland, while some people might say there were signs of decline in his final six months at Parkhead.
“But for all that, I’d still take him back in a heartbeat.
OOPS…Johnny Kenny thumps a shot against Dundee United keeper Dave Richards as Celtic slump 2-1 against Dundee United at Tannadice.
“Because the simple fact is, he would still be far better than anything Celtic have right now.”
Sutton, speaking in the Daily Record, continued: “Kyogo proved he’s a big game player at the club. He thrived in this environment and produced the goods when his team needed it most, in Cup Finals, derbies and in Europe.
“Listen, I have my doubts it would happen. Would he want to come back to Glasgow?
“It would also be effectively an admission the recruitment department weren’t doing their jobs properly that it takes 12 months to replace Kyogo – with Kyogo.
“There are surely strikers out there being scouted and there’s a desperate need to get at least one in the door early in the January transfer window.”
The one-time England international added: “It’s an area that is hurting Celtic right now as Johnny Kenny is not cutting it, Daizen Maeda does what Daizen Maeda does and is more effective wide anyway and Kelechi Iheanacho’s quality is not much use when he’s unreliable due to fitness issues.
“The Dundee United and Aberdeen games were great examples. Celtic would have been out of sight in both games if they had a cutting edge in the final third.
“Paul Tisdale and his scouting team need to come up with answers.
“A striker – Kyogo or otherwise – has to be at the very top of Nancy’s wishlist.”
In the meantime, the French boss is preparing his players for the visit to Livingston this afternoon in his introduction to the hosts’ notorious plastic pitch.
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best action images from Livingston v Celtic this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
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