The costs of dropping Giakoumakis for Kyogo

All going well, in the weeks ahead, Ange Postecoglou will consider replacing his current Most Valuable Player – Giorgos Giakoumakis – with his MVP from the first half of the season, Kyogo Furuhashi.

It is easy to forget how early we are in the formation of this Celtic team.  Daizan Maeda and Reo Hatate are only here two months, Matt O’Riley less than that.  None have teamed up with Kyogo, they have spent little time with playing with Yosuke Ideguchi, James Forrest or David Turnbull.

That bizarrely easy win in February over Newco implied the new model had a maturity that was not there yet.  A month of indifferent performances followed, with a harsh truth delivered by Bodo/Glimt.  On good surfaces and against Premiership opposition, the system is again looking fabulous.

A big part of this system is what Giakoumakis gives us in the air – two headed goals and one headed assist on Saturday.  Without him, we have the appearance of a front line that could not jump and touch the crossbar.  We would also lose an additional strong defender at set-pieces.

The temptation to make Kyogo the new focus could be overwhelming, he was that impressive.  He brings things to Celtic we have not seen in years.  Question is, what will the costs be of dropping Giorgos, or rejigging the entire setup to fit both in?