Exclusive: Celtic register interest in re-signing Kyogo Furuhashi
Celtic have registered their interest in re-signing Birmingham City star Kyogo Furuhashi in January, sources have told Football Insider.
The Glasgow giants are exploring the market for attacking options ahead of the winter window.
Sources say Kyogo is on the radar of his former team, where he was a huge favourite of the fans during his three-and-a-half years there.
The Japan international joined Birmingham in the summer after just six months at Stade Rennais.
But he is yet to score a league goal for the Championship club and has mainly had to settle for substitute appearances.
Kyogo is adored at Celtic but has had a lean 12 months
Kyogo scored 20 goals in 33 appearances in his first season at Celtic after a £4.5million move from Vissel Kobe in 2021.
He helped them win the Scottish Premiership in each of his three full campaigns at the club, and ended his spell at Parkhead with 85 strikes in 165 games before he joined Rennes in the last January window.
The Japanese forward failed to make an impact in Ligue 1, as he played six times without finding the back of the net in the second half of last season.
Football Insider revealed in the summer that Celtic were interested in re-signing Kyogo, but he instead made the move to newly-promoted Championship side Birmingham.
He has extended his barren spell into this campaign at St Andrew’s, with just one goal for the club in his first 18 appearances so far, as doubts emerge around Chris Davies’ position in charge of the Blues amid their struggle to mount a promotion push.
Celtic exploring Stefan Ortega deal despite Wilfried Nancy uncertainty
Celtic need to attack the January transfer window with real intent if they wish to win another league title, but under-fire manager Nancy could be sacked soon.
That uncertainty means they are turning to proven stars like Kyogo, with Football Insider also revealing that Celtic want to sign Man City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in the new year.
The German international stopper has been demoted to City’s fourth-choice keeper this season after the arrivals of Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford.
Doubts have emerged around Kasper Schmeichel’s future as their number one in recent months after a string of sub-par performances, and so Ortega could be another, alongside Kyogo, who swaps English football for a move north of the border next month.