It is safe to say that Celtic pulled off a transfer masterstroke in the summer when they signed Kyogo Furuhashi from Vissel Kobe. He was the only signing that they made from the J1 League and it is safe to say that the club and Ange Postecoglou made the right choice. The Japanese star has been absolutely superb since coming in and guided the Hoops to the Scottish League Cup trophy with a brace against Hibernian in the final.
Coming into the game, it was unsure whether he would play or not, having picked up an injury earlier in the month against Real Betis in the Europa League.
And in the first half, he was not the most involved either. Like every great player though, when the opportunities came, he took them. Kyogo produced two world-class finishes in the second half to help Celtic get a 2-1 win, proving himself to be the man for the big occasion.
Postecoglou has revealed after the game exactly why he had brought Kyogo to Celtic in the summer. As reported by the Daily Record, the manager said:
"“Kyogo was always going to be my first pick because I had witnessed at first hand what sort of player he was. I had no doubt he would be successful.”"
He also said:
"“I knew he would be a fantastic player and he is an even better person. His movement is incredible, but the quality of his finishing.“To have that composure in such a big game. They are two world class finishes.”"
Postecoglou reveals why Celtic signed Kyogo in the summer
Kyogo has arguably been Celtic’s standout player this season. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 16 goals and provided 5 assists in 25 appearances for the club till now. And he scored two of his most important ones last night to guide the Hoops to the first trophy of the campaign.
With the amount of success that Kyogo has had since his arrival, Celtic are expected to bring in more players from the J1 League in the future.
And they have been linked with players like Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate recently, as the January transfer window approaches. Now, it remains to be seen if they can get those deals over the line.