Kyogo Furuhashi Became a Celtic FC Legend During His Time at the Club

GLASGOW — In soccer nothing stays the same for long. That cliché recently became a reality for Kyogo Furuhashi as his departure from Scottish Premiership giant Celtic FC was confirmed on January 27, 2025.

According to reports, Furuhashi had been wanting to leave. And when a £10 million GBP (about $12.5 million USD or ¥1.95 billion JPY) offer came in from French club Rennes, it was accepted by Celtic. Furuhashi's departure was completed respectfully and efficiently.

Between mainstream media reports and listening to the opinions of Celtic fans, there were mixed feelings around the 30-year-old striker's departure. Some argued that the money offered was too good to turn down for a player of Furuhashi's age. The alternative view was that by selling Furuhashi at this point in the season, Celtic FC's board of directors was showing a lack of ambition ― especially when it came to possibly progressing further in the UEFA Champions League.

What wasn't up for debate was Furuhashi's impact at the club during his time in Scotland. Brought to Glasgow by previous manager Ange Postecoglou for £4.5 million (around $5.6 million or ¥860 million) the Nara Prefecture native thrilled the Celtic support with his goals, work rate, energy, and the enthusiasm he displayed each time he pulled on the Celtic jersey.

Making an Instant Impact

During the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership campaign, Celtic was well beaten in the title race by their bitter rivals from across Glasgow, Rangers. Improvement was required for the 2021-22 season and Furuhashi played his part as Celtic wrestled the title back from Rangers.

Arriving in July 2021, Furuhashi may not have been well known to most soccer fans and media in Scotland, but he hit the ground running by scoring on his first start for Celtic ― a UEFA Europa League qualifier against Czech club Jablonec on August 5, 2021. Three days later, he announced himself in the Scottish Premiership ― netting a hat trick against Dundee. His clever runs and movement inside the penalty area that day showcased the type of goal he would score many times over in the Scottish Premiership. Defenses had been warned.

Furuhashi's goals couldn't be stopped, though, and his 12 in 20 Premiership appearances helped Celtic to the league title. He also scored twice in the final of the Scottish League Cup as Celtic defeated Hibernian 2-1.

A Blockbuster Season and Plenty More Trophies and Goals

The following season (2022-23) was Furuhashi's best for Celtic. Celtic won all the domestic trophies on offer (Scottish Premiership, League Cup and Scottish Cup). Furuhashi's contribution was significant ― 27 goals in 36 Premiership appearances along with a further seven in the cup competitions. These goalscoring exploits earned Furuhashi two Player of the Year awards ― one from the football writers and the other from his fellow professional players.

With Postecoglou departing Celtic to manage in England, Brendan Rodgers took over for the 2023-24 season and his slightly less dynamic style of football was something Furuhashi had to adjust to. Despite this, Furuhashi still managed to score 14 goals in the Premiership as Celtic won the league title again along with the Scottish Cup.

At the time of Furuhashi's departure at the midway point of the 2024-25 campaign, Celtic was cruising to another Premiership title and had already won the League Cup. Furuhashi's 10 strikes in the Premiership this season saw him sign off from Celtic having scored 63 times in 116 top-flight appearances in Scotland.

Overall, the diminutive forward scored 85 goals in 165 matches in all competitions for Celtic ― an outstanding goals-to-games ratio.

Comparing Furuhashi to Other Successful Celtic Strikers of the 21st Century

As someone who views the Scottish Premiership through a neutral lens ― the club I support plays further down the Scottish soccer pyramid ― I'm able to offer an unbiased analysis of Furuhashi's time at Celtic in comparison to some of the other top strikers they have had recently.

Any successful Celtic forward will instantly be compared to Henrik Larsson. Larsson played for Celtic from 1997 until 2004 and scored 242 goals in 315 appearances in all competitions for the club. He is a club legend and is regarded as a hero by all Celtic fans.

Being mentioned in the same sentence as Larsson is high praise for any Celtic forward, and during his time in Scotland, Furuhashi and certain elements of his play were compared to Larsson ― namely his movement and finishing ability.

While it will be pretty much impossible for any Celtic forward to elevate themself above Larsson in the eyes of the fans, my view is that Furuhashi is one of the top three strikers to represent Celtic since Larsson left the club.

The other two I'd place on that list are Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard. Both French, Dembele and Edouard enjoyed success at Celtic Park and produced a similar goals ratio to Furuhashi.

Dembele played two full seasons for Celtic, scoring 51 times in 94 games in all competitions. Edouard was at the club for four full seasons, finding the net 89 times in 196 appearances.

Similar records for three different types of strikers. Individual fans will have their own preference and opinions on who they prefer overall, but Furuhashi is deserving of his high status among Celtic fans.

Some Words From a Celtic Season Ticket Holder

To provide more in-depth analysis on Furuhashi's time at Celtic I recently spoke to a friend who has been a Celtic season ticket holder for over 30 years. Danny O'Neill has seen all the great and good Celtic players over that time so I wanted to present his opinion to the readers of SportsLook.

"Kyogo's been brilliant, one of the best forwards we've ever had," Danny told me.

He continued, "I think he was one or two steps above any of the current Celtic players, even the midfielders. His movement was brilliant. We've had brilliant forwards at Celtic over the years, Larsson being the best of them. But I'd say Kyogo was really, really close to him, I just loved Kyogo's movement. I'd say in a 90-minute game he would make maybe 10 or 12 perfect runs, be onside, but by the time his teammates noticed, he was offside.

"He needed someone like [former Spain, Barcelona and Vissel Kobe midfielder] Andres Iniesta who could really play a killer pass to his forwards. If he had someone like that supplying him, he would have scored even more goals."

How about Furuhashi's exploits in the biggest matches he played?

"Every half chance he got, especially in the big games like against Rangers or in cup finals, he tended to score," O'Neill said. "Celtic will miss him in the big games going forward."

How did Danny feel about Furuhashi moving on?

"I was gutted when he left," he admitted. "Really, really gutted. I think he's a brilliant player and could have helped Celtic be successful in the Champions League playoff matches against Bayern Munich. He was truly outstanding during his time at Celtic."

Summing It All Up

Soccer fans the world over want the club they support to be successful. In Glasgow, the pressure to succeed is multiplied as, due to the two-horse nature of the Scottish game, Celtic and Rangers supporters demand their team wins every domestic trophy available.

During his time in Scotland, Furuhashi played a significant part in a period of domestic dominance and slight improvement in the European competitions for Celtic. His goalscoring exploits grabbed the headlines and his movement and finishing ability were appreciated by those with a true understanding of soccer.

The icing on the cake for Furuhashi was the special bond he shared with the Celtic support. His time at the club will be spoken about for generations to come and future Celtic forwards will be compared to him.

Perhaps the best way to close this out is with what Danny told me just before our conversation on this subject ended.

"The fans loved him," the longtime Celtic supporter said. "Honestly, what a player he is. Just brilliant."

Author: Colin Morrison

Morrison is a freelance sportswriter. Find his stories on SportsLook. Writing since 2016, his byline currently appears on FightsATW.com where he covers boxing. Morrison has previously written for NYFights.com and spitballingpod.com. His main areas of interest are boxing, soccer, golf, and rugby union. Morrison is from Scotland and can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @Morrie1981.